Special operations expanding as wars recede

War is going back under wraps - that's the next-generation plan put forth by the special operations commander who led the Osama bin Laden raid and embraced at the highest levels of the Pentagon and the White House.

Big armies and the land invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan will be replaced by fast and light special operations raids that leave little trace, or better yet, raids by friendly local forces the U.S. has trained, helping fight mutual enemies side by side.

U.S. officials say that's the plan offered by special operations chief Adm. Bill McRaven, who started working last fall to sell defense leaders on a plan to beef up his existing Theater Special Operations commands to reposition staff and equipment for the post-Iraq and Afghanistan wars era.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta shared few details in the new Pentagon budget he outlined Thursday, but officials explained the nascent plan in greater detail to The Associated Press.

As the overall military force shrinks and special operations troops return from their 10-raid-a-night tempo in Iraq and Afghanistan, they'll be redeployed to special operations units in areas somewhat neglected during the decade-long focus on al-Qaida because there were simply too few of them to go around, according to a senior defense official and other current and former U.S. officials briefed on the program.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the details of the proposal and timing of implementation are still being worked out.

While the idea is to work and train with foreign armies, the invigorated network would reinforce and reinvigorate special operations units in regions like the Pacific Rim.