Word: rout
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...murderous operation had a double goal: to claim American lives on American soil, and to trigger a U.S. retaliation against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan that would turn the country into a massive cemetery for U.S. troops and precipitate the fall of America. The terrorists had in mind the Afghan rout of the Soviet army, which helped provoke the implosion of the U.S.S.R. The assassination of Afghan commander Ahmed Shah Massoud two days before Sept. 11 was meant to eliminate the Taliban's leading opponent before he could help the anticipated U.S. counterattack. Muslim scholars and clerics around the world were expected...
...that may not be easy. Mullah Omar and his men are clearly able to move with ease in their home territory. Many Taliban fighters remain in the area, having melted into the civilian population last fall in the face of overwhelming U.S. military might. In last year's rout of the Taliban, most enemy fighters were neither killed nor captured; they simply dispersed. Many went back to their villages and signed up with local warlords engaged in longstanding turf battles. Others may have seen the onset of the U.S. offensive as the cue to revert to the guerrilla tactics their...
Embarrassment over the failure to catch bin Laden has added to rising tension between the Pentagon and the CIA, whose seamless cooperation was critical to the rout of the Taliban. Both agencies are responsible for gathering intelligence, but some military officials suggest that CIA agents charged with finding America's chief enemy are distracted by the tasks of rebuilding Afghanistan--like settling disputes between rival Afghan warlords. "There has been a lot of mission creep over there," says a senior military officer. In response, a U.S. intelligence official says, "There has been no ratcheting back. Whoever is telling you that...
...authorities working with American counterparts staged one of the most successful counter-terrorism operations since Sept. 11. And besides preventing a possibly deadly al Qaeda attack, the police work revealed important - and disturbing - insights into how Osama bin Laden's operatives are regrouping for new terror operations despite their rout in Afghanistan. Moroccan sources describe the suspects as killers hardened by battles in Afghanistan, who were nonetheless capable of shaving off their beards and melting into the local scene. They came across as such decent young men that one recent Moroccan acquaintance protested their innocence to police saying...
...very next day, eight different players scored for the Crimson in an 11-2 rout of California that snapped a two-game home losing skid...