I was just trying to clarify why Bush will continue with the horrendous air war--because there are think tankers, Pentagon people, and even people like Powell who believe that air power (totally uncontested) can prevail on the ground.
People have speculated what motivates suicide attacks. I think pictures of the carnage US air power wreaked against the fleeing Iraqi army (many of them conscripts) may well have embittered OBL and Arabs against the US. Of course they buried them in the trenches, too, but we didn't see this taking place in Time magazine. I remember at the time there was speculation that Powell turned the fly boys loose like that because the entire military wanted revenge for the Scuds that killed the Army reservists from Washington, PA.
The questions to ask now include: Will a continued air campaign truly break the Taliban? Will it turn most of the Pashtun against the US?
If it doesn't break the Taliban around their strongholds anytime soon, the US's war position becomes even more untenable. Air power alone might not do it, but the US would be extremely reluctant to commit ground troops to anything other than propaganda efforts (to show the people back home they were having success) and to help the ailing Northern Alliance (like instructing them how to call in the bombers better, since it would the guys at the very front who in many cases could best spot Taliban positions and laser-guide fire onto them).
On the other hand, let's suppose the US says, well, we do have to go in there on the ground. If they do, they'll want to do it with absolutely over-whelming forces--like they did against Iraq. That's tough to do in a land-locked country, since the heavy stuff requires ship transport.
As for anti-war movements, the war has already started and Bush might respond to opinion polls but there isn't anything much democratic about foreign policy or the use of military force.
I'm waiting for the reckoning that comes later. The Democrats will have to put together some campaign, to contest Congressional positions and to contest the White House. But they can't do that from the loyal opposition stance. That is also when, with an ailing economy, and the realization the federal national security state doesn't give a toss about most Americans, that is when the revulsion and recriminations start.
Who knows. Perhaps this could be an era that sees a major re-alignment of the political establishment. Perhaps a true center left social democratic party could arise. A bloodless, velvet revolution for the holdout superpower empire.
Gotta have something to dream about.
Charles Jannuzi