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NOW, KABUL: Would anyone have guessed that the Taliban would have essentially abandoned Kabul by now? Or that Washington would be trying to rein in military success? So much for the New York Times' prediction of "quagmire." (I notice that the Times today cannot bring itself to celebrate this success. Why not? What's their problem?) What we are dealing with now is the first class conundrum of sweeping success. The most pressing task, as the Washington Post argues, is the use of the opportunity to inflict real damage on the fleeing Taliban forces and to find and kill as many terrorist leaders that we can. Yes, we also need to ensure order in Kabul. And yes, very little Pashtun territory has yet to fold. But to control almost half the country within a month can hardly be deemed a failure - and by airpower and special forces alone. Moreover, the psychological and propaganda impact of taking the capital cannot be under-estimated, as Charles Krauthammer powerfully argues today. Let's take Kabul now. Then on to Kandahar and, at some point, Baghdad. Yes, Baghdad. We have a job to finish.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Answers

Times, UK

Fleeing fighters find no escape from the bullet FROM ANTHONY LOYD IN KARABACH

FOR a few seconds the life of the three Pakistani fighters hung in the balance as they hesitated in their flight from the battlefield.

Things could have gone either way until, somewhere between the whistling gunfire, the bursting shells, the shouting and the jabber of radios, their fate was sealed.

"Don’t shoot, they’re ours," one Mujahidin commander screamed at his wild-eyed troops, who had begun firing at the three fugitives after storming through a breach in the Taleban front line.

"They’re Talebs. They’re Talebs. Fire," yelled another.

A score of Mujahidin stopped molesting the body of a dead Taleban fighter and charged forward over the captured trench in search of the new quarry. As bullets flew overhead, the panicstricken trio, realising that no quarter would be given, fired at their assailants. A single rocket-propelled grenade stunned them. Then the mob was upon them, ripping their weapons from their hands even as another Mujahidin commander tried to accept their surrender.

Then they were gone in a chatter of Kalashnikov fire, brains rolling out in their turbans as close-range retribution ended their war. Their North West Frontier Province ID cards spilt in the dust.

It was mid-afternoon on day one of the battle to close on Kabul. As a moment of war it was almost forgettable when put against the sights and sounds, the rawness, violence and emotion that preceded and followed it, as the Northern Alliance routed the Taleban forces and drove them back towards the edge of the capital.

The attack began with strike after strike by American F18s and B52s. Whatever problems exist in the relationship between America and the Alliance, problems that until the last minute had threatened to delay the offensive, on yesterday’s evidence at least they appeared to have been solved.

In Dosarkara, a village at the western side of the Bagram airbase, five American special forces soldiers stood brazenly on a rooftop throughout the morning, spotting targets for their jets, which pounded the Taleban positions less than a mile away. Dressed in a mixture of Afghan dress and Western civilian clothes, one spoke on a radio set linked to a sophisticated antenna. Another operated a laser target-locating device shrouded in a sack, his height and cropped blond hair clearly defining him from the Mujahidin commanders who clustered around him.

Two more, in jeans and padded jackets, consulted Alliance commanders over maps. The fifth, apparently their commander, wore Russian fatigues and field cap.

Beneath them, as the airstrikes intensified across the Samali Plain, enveloping it in smoke, hundreds of Alliance troops filed through the earthen alleyways of the frontline village to their holding positions, laden with small arms, ammunition and rockets. By midday a lively artillery exchange between the Taleban and Alliance forces had begun.

Beyond Dosarkara, one panic-stricken group of Mujahidin fell back, shouting that a Taleban tank had broken through the line. There was a flurry of activity around the radio and laser device. Minutes later the grinding tank treads were silenced as an F18 blew it apart.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Well, I'm watching Fox footage of Kabul and there are many smiling faces--except on the POWs. Steve Harrigan says he drove around for about an hour and didn't see anything untoward. Huge crowds are on the streets, he says, men, women and children, vendors selling various products, including fruits and vegetables. Some women are not wearing the burqa. Just saw footage of young soldiers with flowers in their gun barrels. Harrigan says people are happy, big smiles, hugging each other. Despite his knowledge of the area, he's still a bit taken aback by the prompt defection of Taliban troops who are now Alliance soldiers.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Forgot to mention: Harrigan says he was surprised to find no evidence of the bombing on his little tour. Must be there somewhere but he obviously expected to find extensive damage, possibly due to Taliban propaganda, I don't know. Let's hope we did hit on the outskirts and not civilian areas, as advertised.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

So much for the easy part of the campaign...

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Well, Brooks, I thought it was going to be a real bitch, with perhaps house to house fighting against fanatics who were not afraid to die. And they turn out to be cowards, abandoning the foreigners who were persuaded to come to the country and fight for them. That kind of cowardice should wake up some ignorant people who supported them, or at least one hopes.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

I agree with you Peter, I thought it would be a real bitch as well.

We can only hope that the cowardice shown has that effect on the Taleban supporters. I suspect that the supporters will look on it as western propaganda to erode their confidence.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Barefoot, I'm afraid you may be right. A lot of those insanely stupid people have been persuaded that it was Israel (!!) that was responsible for WTC.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

The "bitch" part was nailing one particular Taliban, OBL. I'm not surprised by the rest. However, I'm also not ready to say it was just cowardice, there may be something else going on.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

booby traps, brooks?

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001