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This, in turn, means that America cannot stop once it has overthrown the Taliban. To be sure of success, it has to make a long march through Libya, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Sudan, overthrowing regimes or at least terrifying them into good behaviour.

There would be a lot to be said for making these strategic options explicit now, before we get lost in the fog of virtual war.

It seems to me that President Bush did exactly that in his address to Congress and the nation on 9/20/01:

"Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."
"Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime."

"Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."

Why was Hamas and Islamic Jihad omitted from Bush's list of terrorist groups we are waging financial war on? Why haven't their assets been frozen?