Half a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush's war on terrorism appears to be entering a more complex and difficult phase. U.S. troops have mounted a major ground offensive in Afghanistan, while a special forces team is helping fight Muslim militants in the Philippines. Mr. Bush has also been taking his antiterror campaign to Yemen and the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Moreover, he is weighing a future military option against Iraq.
What is needed now, however, is not a reckless rush to widen the war but a concerted effort to rebuild Afghanistan. A cool-headed review of military strategy is in order. In the U.S. Congress, a few Democratic leaders have criticized Mr. Bush's handling of the war against terrorism. "I think the jury's still out about future success," said Senate majority leader Thomas Daschle. "I think there is expansion at least without a clear direction."
The military operation in Afghanistan was dramatically successful in its early stages. The bombing campaign, launched in October, annihilated the Taliban regime by December, leading to the establishment of an interim administration headed by Mr. Hamid Karzai. But the manhunt for Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 massacre, has proved futile. Also at large is Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban's supreme leader.