<The former mujahedin fighters among the Taliban, as well as the Afghan-Arabs who fought alongside them, will remember the hit-and-run tactics that saw off the Russians in the 1980s, and will now be hoping to administer the same treatment to the US and British forces when they arrive. In this kind of warfare, technological superiority counts for little.

Heh-heh... Yeah, and we’re just stupid enough to not have guerrilla training in the ranks. There will be casualties, but the Taliban’s days are severely numbered. Keep a low profile, watch for anything/anyone out of place, guard against sudden movements, and know your friends, not just your enemies. Shoot, center of mass and to kill. They’ll be wrapping themselves, so it may take a few rounds -- but that’s what the three-round-burst was invented for.

Please note that the continued fighting through Ramadan depletes the enemy’s supplies, through the simple act of keeping them too busy to collect any. I’m sure that as they fled their cities they were able to horde enough to feel comfortable for the moment, but it’s going to be difficult to lug that larder around the country, particularly with the limited number of outpost gas stations and tracers zipping around their collective little heads.

The Taliban believe they will receive reinforcements in this new war from across the Pakistani border from fellow Pashtuns and also fresh waves of international Islamist volunteers.

Yeah, I’ll bet they’re just clamoring to get into the real action. Brainwashed kids without a lick of sense, and a few hardened hot-heads with a death-wish. That’s their reinforcement.

But there had been some hiccups for the Allies on the way to victory. The one and only ground attack by US Rangers, a purely cosmetic exercise for the media on a supposedly poorly defended target, ended in near disaster when the Taliban fought back.

Spoken like a true moron.

Nor did the initial burst of air strikes lead to the Taliban leadership wilting and handing over Mr bin Laden.

That was obviously not the aim of the initial assaults. Achieving air supremacy, as well as establishing a safe fly zone anywhere in the nation was.

This boy needs to get out more.

But then, I'm just so damned gullible...

These shortcomings made the planners in Washington and London rethink and accept that the Northern Alliance must be helped, despite the strong objections of General Pervez Musharraf's Pakistani regime.

No rethink involved. When the time came for a ground assault, a ground assault occurred. Please note that the America’s Militaries were not placed directly in harm’s way here. The Northern Alliance was. I consider that to be a stroke of genius. Any time you can get someone else to win your war for you, you immediately triple your own gain.

If such avenues are cut off, Mr bin Laden and his closest followers are likely to attempt to cross the Pakistani border, where they are likely to find refuge among Pashtun sympathisers and may get protection from members of Pakistan's military intelligence service, the ISI.

And there’s a nice little broadcast from our “O, so patriotic, now” media. I wonder if anyone is listening.

Thanks, Ed!

Gotta go,
Dan