In opening its air assault on Afghanistan, the United States must carefully balance the risks connected with military action, according to national security expert Richard Betts. A strong show of restraint that is designed to assuage public opinion in the Muslim world might do more to provoke fresh terrorist attacks than to prevent them, Betts asserted.

The United States launched an air offensive October 7 against the Taliban in the first armed action of its anti-terrorism campaign. Betts, a professor at Columbia University's Institute of War and Peace Studies, said the international community expects the United States to carry out a massive assault.

"Witness the frantic evacuation of Afghanistan, the surge of refugees