A few points about Afghanistan. In the 19th century and in the 20th century the British and the Russsians were involved but these were more of land based wars and like any other guerrilla army, the Afghans made use of the terrain. However, I doubt very much now if the Taliban have any idea what modern warfare can really be like. Hiding in the hills and sniping at the enemy is unlikely to be of much use against airbursts, gas and other weapons which I have no doubt are in the arsenal of the superpowers. As suggested earlier if it means building a wall around the country, I am sure with modern methods that is quite feasible. After all the Romans some 2000 years ago managed to surround and isolate Vercingetorex and later Massada by building a wall. To IamJohnne: Don't insult the plants of the world by saying Bin Laden has green stuff in his veins. Without them we couldn't survive.:-)