[discostu]

Problem is deploying 100,000 troops on the other side of the planet takes a very long time. You've got two choices in war: fast action with small units, prolonged setup time for large units (if we could have even gotten one of the border nations to let us stage that many troops). If we'd have gone the big unit rout action wouldn't have been able to start until at least February of 2002, which would have given the bad guys that much more time to prepare, and that much more time to launch massive terrorist attacks on us while hiding in a sovereign nation. How we did things wasn't perfect, but no plan is.

[stalin]

We didn't really need to send 100,000 because of our mercenaries but at the beginning it looked like that might have been necessary.

If we spend 350 billion on the military and can't send 50,000 troops in 6 months something is very wrong.

It was the cowardice of our politicians that let the enemy go. Powell is a turd.

[Stultis]

Problem is deploying 100,000 troops on the other side of the planet takes a very long time

Even better than the points I made. Additionally, the speed with which we moved against Afghanistan helped to crystalize international awareness that a new era had dawned, at that the WOT was a reality that must be dealt with. The closer in time to 911 that this first object lesson could be delivered, the more powerful it was.