A mission that requires more than just military might
The aim of terrorists is to sow seeds of terror: to cause confusion, panic, instability and fear. No single act of terrorism, however barbaric, is likely to knock out and defeat an entire country; instead, the terrorist's aim is to weaken the spirit and the resolve of the perceived enemy.
Seemingly then, the appalling attacks on targets in the United States last week were, from the terrorists' perspective, a failure.
The targets of terror - some of the most potent totems of the free world, as well as the thousands of innocent people who were associated with them - were successfully and spectacularly attacked in an operation that amounted to the worst single terrorist outrage the world has seen; and yet, initially at least, the spirit of the nation that the terrorists targeted is anything but broken. Indeed it appears to grow stronger daily.
Many people around the world are bemused, stunned and distraught. The demonstrations of solidarity with the people of the United States at a time of terrible loss have been genuine, spontaneous and have reached across all the usual barriers of race, religion and culture.
Meanwhile, for many in America the grief and shock has turned to anger, and a thirst, even need, for revenge. A declaration of war has been made. Some kind of sustained military action now seems inevitable; what form will take is still far from clear. However, what is almost certain is that the virtually unanimous sympathy felt around the world for the tragedy in America will, in many cases, not be translated into moral support, let alone practical support, for an extended military struggle. As time proceeds there is a danger that the unanimity of purpose - to wage war on terrorism - will lose some of its impetus, dramatically so when the shooting begins.
What took place in New York and Washington was, of course, not simply a terrorist outrage. The sheer scale of the destruction, and its symbolism, as well as the dreadful number of casualties, made it an act of war. But it was an act of war by a secretive, unseen enemy about which the American people have little understanding. Moreover it is, militarily, a puny enemy; puny, perhaps, but, as the world has seen, able to wreak horrific carnage. Such an enemy can never hope to bring a great country like America to its knees, but it can force that country to re-focus its priorities, and to re-assess its perception of itself as invulnerable.
If America is to succeed in its ambitious - perhaps ultimately impossible - aim of defeating terrorism, it will need to wage the forthcoming war not only with materiel, but with propaganda: irrefutable ethical arguments and evidence to justify its actions and to win the hearts and minds of both its allies and, ultimately, all those who are potential enemies. Bullets, missiles and bombs alone will not crush the spirit of an enemy prepared to commit suicide in order to do battle. Such fanaticism will only be inflamed by military action.
With this in mind the US has so far been careful to build cohesion among its allies and sympathy among those countries who do not normally find themselves backing its position. Secretary of State Colin Powell has played, and will continue to play, a vital role in this operation to garner support for the decisive actions that will be the inevitable corollary of America's declaration of war.
Most notably the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) has invoked Article 5 - unprecedented in the alliance's history - that states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. Such a move, along with support from the United Nations' Security Council, has created a momentum that may be almost impossible for wavering countries to resist. It is a momentum that the US will need to sustain through difficult times ahead because, as President George W. Bush made clear in his radio address last night, a token act will not be satisfactory: only action that is 'sweeping, sustained and effective'.
It is clear that at least one target of American military action will be Osama bin Laden, who hides in Afghanistan. The ruling Taleban regime there has already made it clear that any country assisting America to attack its country will in turn be attacked. The warning to Pakistan is explicit.
And yet the pressure for Pakistan to comply with requests from the US for assistance was overwhelming for what is an extremely unstable country held together by one of its few viable institutions - the army.
Having achieved the level of co-operation it needs, America must now take care to maintain support from those who are not its natural allies. To do this, in the longer term, it will need to produce clear evidence against those it targets, be they bin Laden or anyone else. Conclusive evidence that will be readily accepted by all will be difficult to come by, but produced it must be if cohesion of purpose is to be maintained.
It is essential that just as the US' enemy explicitly targeted civilians, America must avoid them at all costs.
While the American people demand swift vengeance, the administration must maintain a cooler head and shore up its moral high ground defences.
In the new world of what has been dubbed 'asymmetric warfare', being seen to be right is equally important as might.
