Keeping all options open

摘要

The reactions to America's first round of air attacks were sobering in their variety. President George Bush said that battle had been joined "on many fronts" and called the operations "sustained, comprehensive and relentless". His defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, cautioned that "air strikes alone probably won't dislodge the Taliban" or kill Osama bin Laden. He repeated the administration's view that these were opening shots in a long, fluid conflict that might one day spill beyond Afghanistan's borders.