"The war pits 8,000 soldiers of the world's mightiest army equipped with the best technology against perhaps a few hundred fugitive fighters of bin Laden's terrorist network."

(What is that, 40 to 1?)

"In addition, there are around 2,000 coalition soldiers, including Turks, Australians and French, mostly serving in a support and peacekeeping capacity. The small contingents of British and Canadian combat troops that participated earlier in the war have gone home."

(50 to 1.)

"In a strictly military sense we could keep searching and searching and never turn anything up because it is such inhospitable territory," said Sgt. Maj. Dennis Carey, who has overseen operations for conventional troops since November.

"The biggest lesson we have learned over here is patience. It's not a technological war. It's a boots-on-the-ground war. It's people manning checkpoints. It's people on patrols. That's what will find them," he said.

The US is equipped to fight another army just like it's own - high-tech, expensive, hands-off. We didn't learn from Vietnam that we don't "win" wars against a determined force which is "at home".

Can't help but think that the "friendly fire" casualties are just what we don't need over there. To "win" one must have the hearts of the countryside, and killing everyone first and asking who they were later doesn't usually do it.

(Did anyone see the results of the "investigation" into the shot-up wedding party? I didn't, but I was gone for a while.)

Arf