The Rush of Victory

With a speed that stunned members of the anti-terror coalition, Northern Alliance rebels in Afghanistan are capturing the country's key cities only a week into a U.S.-backed ground offensive. The decision of the Taliban militia to turn tail has once again shifted the political and military equation in the campaign against terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and his Taliban protectors. Now, with the Taliban fleeing to the mountains, the U.S. and its allies must scramble to fill the political void in Kabul. Job No. 1: putting in place a transitional government that somehow transcends the nation's vicious ethnic and regional rivalries.

Of course, coping with a swifter-than-expected Taliban retreat is a pretty good problem to have. Just a few weeks ago, the White House faced worries that the war was bogging down. But those fears greatly underestimated the toll of heavy bombing by U.S. B-52s, the ability of mobile Northern Alliance rebels to take advantage of U.S. tactical air cover -- and, of course, the Taliban's snap decision that a cold winter in the mountains beats suffering heavy casualties in Afghan cities.