<p>WASHINGTON -- The Taliban has been routed in Afghanistan. Many top officials of the al-Qaida terrorist network have been rounded up. One of the world's most-feared rulers, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, has been toppled.</p>
<p>If there was uncertainty before Sept. 11, 2001, about the United States' willingness to assert its immense power around the world, President Bush and the American military have provided resounding answers.</p>
