On Sunday night in Afghanistan, weeks of waiting for the fallout of the Sept. 11th incidents came to fruition as a wave of American and British air assaults were launched against the nation.
Early reports had cruise missile and B-1, B-2 and B-52 bomber strikes aimed at "carefully targeted" locations such as al Qaeda training camps and Taliban military centers in and around the cities of Kabul, Jalalabad and Kandahar.
The campaign represented a joint effort between the United States and Great Britain; several other nations including Germany, Canada, France and Australia provided support through intelligence and logistical means.
"There can be no peace in a world of sudden peril ... We did not ask for this mission, but we will fulfill it," President Bush said from the White House at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, addressing the nation shortly after news agencies picked up reports of bombings.
"We will not waver, we will not falter, we will not tire, and we will not fail," Bush said as his remarks drew to a close.
"This is of course a moment of the utmost gravity for the world ... None of our nations want war, but we know that sometimes to safeguard peace, we have to fight," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said an hour later.
The Taliban defense ministry and Kabul's airport were among those targets hit, according to the BBC.
Alleged terrorist leader Osama bin Laden spoke with Al Jazeera television in a statement shot sometime before the attacks on Sunday.
"I swear by God the great ... America will never taste security and safety unless we feel safety and security in our land and in Palestine," bin Laden said.
On Saturday, Bush warned Taliban leaders that the time to comply with U.S. demands was running out; early Sunday the Taliban made an offer to try bin Laden in an Afghan court under Islamic law. The United States refused to consider the compromise.
Approximately 30,000 U.S. troops are currently involved in the buildup of overseas forces.
To Government Professor Michael Mastanduno, yesterday's initiation of a bombing campaign was not a surprise.
"I think it was expected," he said. "The timing was not clear to me and I think that was purposeful ... I think that for some time the administration has been trying to keep bin Laden and the Taliban off guard."
According to Mastanduno, the coherence of an anti-terrorism coalition depends on the scope of operations.
"There is an international coalition that is formed and forming ... [the campaign] needs to be sufficiently limited so that no one can charge that the U.S. is engaged in some sort of broader campaign," he said.
He also emphasized that such a campaign was unlikely to have a clear and immediate resolution.
"We're dealing with very shadowy and elusive networks, and I suspect that the administration does not have a very clear idea of what might constitute a clear and decisive victory."
