As some may have noticed I am just posting articles and not commenting on them here, to stay out of arguments. They are not all softballs however.

http://www.observer.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,578020,00.html

Nor is threatened destruction much of a disincentive. After a revolt in the western city of Herat in March 1979, the Soviets carpet-bombed the city, killing between 5,000 and 25,000 people. It did nothing to deter insurrection. This time, Taliban casualties have been almost farcically light and the damage done has been minimal. We are told that the Americans have knocked out the Taliban 'command and control centres'. I have seen many of these. They largely consist of a man sitting on a rug with a radio, an ancient, unconnected telephone and the mother of all teapots.