"The risks of very powerful lethal weapons moving into the hands of rogue states and/or terrorist networks is real," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said.

"And, certainly, the capabilities that the special operations force bring in this area are relevant," he said at a Pentagon news conference.

The push comes amid a growing diplomatic confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program, but also is part of a broader effort to adjust US military capabilities to what Rumsfeld called "the long war" against Islamic extremism.

Beefing up the special operations forces was one of the recommendations of a major, congressionally-mandated strategy review conducted by the Pentagon every four years.

Admiral Edmund Giambastiani, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a "considerable down payment" for the new military capabilities will be made in the proposed 2007 defense budget being presented next week.

They include "significantly increasing special operations forces with contributions from all of the services," Giambastiani said.

Some reports have put the proposed increase for next year at 15 percent.

The Special Operations Command currently has an authorized strength of nearly 53,000 military personnel.

They include army rangers, army special forces, navy SEALs, Delta Force commandos, special mission units, special operations aviation units and psychological operations units.

The plans emerging from the so-called Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) call for developing a wider range of military options to deter a wider range of threats, Giambastiani said.

Also called for are "significant investments in joint mobility, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and combating weapons of mass destruction," Giambastiani said.

He said the Pentagon wants air capabilities of greater range and persistence, the ability to penetrate "denied areas" and conduct sustained operations there, and the means to conduct joint operations along coasts and rivers.

Rumsfeld and other senior defense officials have depicted the QDR as a refinement of broad strategies that the Pentagon has been pursuing since the September 11, 2001 attacks -- not a major change of direction.

They say it marks a shift in emphasis from conventional warfare to four other areas -- irregular warfare, homeland defense, combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and influencing the choices made by countries at a "strategic crossroads," officials said.

The QDR calls for "tailored deterrence," moving away from the Cold War doctrine of massive retaliation, officials said.

Ryan Henry, a deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said the threat of massive retaliation may not be as effective in dealing with "rogue powers" as it is with "near competitors."

The problem is particularly difficult when dealing with "undeterrable" terrorist groups who don't hold their own lives dear, he told a conference sponsored by a Washington think tank.

"We have to come up with different mechanisms," he said, adding that the Pentagon is reaching out to academics and other outside experts for new ideas.

"Massive retaliation is something that worked for 50 years, and generations of defense planners lived through that and feel comfortable with it," he said. "We have to break out of our comfort zone and flesh out this concept of tailored deterrence."

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