Why send several brigades with thousands of troops to fight a war when you can send 12-24 and create a proxy civil war? Thank you Facebook and Twitter.

Hello Syria. It's terrible that your civil war ended and has left your government entirely dysfunctional. Let us help you get back on your feet, because we're good people and want the best for you.

The perception that Special Forces typically only goes on direct action missions to raid the heavily guarded compounds of high-value targets is very useful. The reality is often more boring, though. For instance, chauffeuring a "Verizon Wireless contractor" around Baghdad to "repair" wireless towers.