ONE DAY SOON Hong Kong may wake up to learn that the United States military machine has moved decisively on President George W. Bush's pledge to 'rid the world of evil'.
It may be missile strikes from afar or action by a posse of Special Forces commandos to assassinate Osama bin Laden or, more unlikely, even a full ground invasion of Afghanistan. All three scenarios are under active scrutiny in secret meetings inside the Pentagon, itself targeted last week by the hijackers who destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York.
Early yesterday morning came some of the first suggestions that those moves may not be too far off. More than 100 lethal combat aircraft - F-15 and F-16 jet fighters and B-1 bombers - started being flown to bases in the Persian Gulf. The operation was named 'Infinite Justice' - a phrase from an administration that clearly has history on its mind. And this morning, Mr Bush is likely to move his nation another step closer to a military response in a speech to the US Congress.
But he is not expected to reveal any specific plans for military action and it is only when the first concrete moves are made that it will become evident exactly how Mr Bush's 'new war on terrorism' is likely to develop and how far it might go. This could well have an impact on Asia, either as a staging point for an extended campaign or as a target for any crackdown on the outer reaches of the influence of bin Laden and other terrorists.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State and former Gulf War military leader, has already spoken of targeting bin Laden and working - diplomatically and militarily - to destroy the tentacles of his loose al-Qaeda network.
Assistant Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz - a hawk compared with Mr Powell's tailored 'reluctant warrior' image - has preferred to speak of 'ending states who sponsor terrorism', although his aides insist he only meant the US would end support for such states.