A consensus is developing in Washington - among politicians, the analysts, commentators and the media - that the war on terrorism must be prosecuted more urgently. Hence, pressure is building to develop a stronger ground dimension to fight the Taliban and root out al Qaeda supporters.

So far, the US bombing campaign has not brought about the desired results. Although Taliban defensive positions have supposedly taken a pounding, the fighting spirit of Taliban units appears to remain strong. With winter fast approaching in the region, the word "stalemate" has been occasionally uttered in Washington. A military deadlock inspires deep concern in US policy-planning circles. The longer the Taliban remains in power, the greater the potential that terrorists could cause havoc. This is prompting planners to consider new tactics to keep the anti-terrorism campaign on track.

US concerns are stoked in part by the anthrax scare, which has all but paralyzed the seat of the federal government. Reports that the Taliban and al Qaeda have probed contacts with Pakistani nuclear scientists also have heightened concern. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

During the October 15 Pentagon briefing, a US military spokesman did not rule out the possibility of Al Qaeda possessing a nuclear weapon. However, the spokesman suggested that a radiological weapon, popularly known as a "dirty nuke" - a primitive device which consists of conventional high explosives surrounded by enriched uranium or plutonium - is more likely to be Osama bin Laden's weapon of choice.

The same Pentagon spokesman said that bin Laden is likely to have simple chemical weapons, such as Phosgen and chlorine, which were used in World War One. However, states in the Middle East, such as Syria, possess much more deadly binary chemical weapons. Separate chemicals, called precursors, can be easily transported without poisoning their handlers, but when combined, can kill thousands.

Several suspected al Qaeda operatives in the United States and Canada have reportedly obtained driver's licenses to transport hazardous materials in 18 wheel tractor trailers. Such low-tech systems can be used to transport large amounts of chemical weapons or precursors for binary weapons into US cities for attacks that could surpass the September 11 terrorist acts in New York and Washington.

According to Pentagon officials, bin Laden's terrorists are working on some biological weapons. It is also widely known that several countries in the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq and Syria, have active bio-weapons programs. According to available public opinion polls, up to 30 percent of the population in these countries are highly critical of the United States and support bin Laden's terrorist attacks. Thus, al Qaeda may have a large pool of possible collaborators among Middle Eastern government officials, intelligence officers and scientists.

Several news reports in Western Europe have claimed that Iraq is directly involved in the current anthrax scare in the United States. According to the German mass-circulation daily Bild, an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague, who was expelled from the Czech Republic for espionage in April, transferred a vacuum-sealed vial of anthrax to Mohammed Atta, the reputed ringleader of the September 11 attacks.

The Bush Administration has repeatedly stated in public, and informed foreign leaders visiting Washington, that it expects new attacks against American civilians. However, the Administration seems to be in the dark as to the nature and source of the threat. Its intelligence "early warning" system remains weak. This is underscored by a series of contradictory leaks about the foreign source of the anthrax culture mailed to Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office, and the chemicals used to weaponize it, followed by statements about the purely domestic origin of the threat.

While close to 1,000 people were apprehended in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, little actionable information has been obtained from the detainees. This was clearly indicated by FBI leaks to the press about how the suspects refused to cooperate, and that barring truth serum and possibly torture, neither of which it is permitted to utilize, the FBI has been unable to come up with evidence.

Domestic investigations into the US-based terrorist cells and preventive operations aimed at thwarting future attacks are being hampered by the anthrax scare. This may have been the initial purpose behind this rather low-level campaign of bio-terrorism. A government source who requested anonymity said that most of agents in the FBI anti-terrorist unit have been pulled to investigate the anthrax attack. And according to The Washington Post, 30 percent of FBI agents are currently working the anthrax probe. With so many agents committed to the bio-terrorism investigation, the Bureau may be understaffed in other vital anti-terrorism areas.

The weakness of US intelligence is apparent in foreign operations. For example, the United States failed to determine that charismatic Pushtun anti-Taliban leader Abdul Haq was walking into a trap when he crossed the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan. US forces also failed in an attempted rescue of Haq when he ran into an ambush on October 26. Such intelligence breakdowns are apt to occur in part because the CIA's anti-terrorism center lacks analysts fluent in Pushtu and Dari, Afghanistan's principal languages.

According to anti-terrorism experts, many domestic targets are wide open to terrorist attacks. "Somebody in this country better wake up, or you'll be living in Beirut in two years. . . . You better wake up," said Heinz Altmann, founder of the International Strategic Services Special Operations Division, which specializes in counter-terrorism training and overseas corporate security. He participated in an anti-terrorism seminar organized by the Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce on October 7.

A growing number of policy officials see the need for more well-prepared operations by the US and British special forces in Afghanistan, designed to capture key sources of information regarding al Qaeda's capabilities and plans. If Americans and British lack intelligence and capabilities, cooperation with Pakistani, Turkish, Russian and other foreign intelligence services and special forces may become necessary to pull such operations off. Without more special forces attacks and intelligence successes, American air power may not suffice to prevent a new al Qaeda terrorist attack.

But many in the government and the US military still don't recognize the crucial role special operations and intelligence need to play in the current conflict.

"The military doesn't do arrests, and they don't do kidnappings," said a US Army colonel who spoke on condition of anonymity. "If you need to arrest someone, go to the police