Well said everyone (except Fionn) in terms of news coverage of peoples reaction to the liberating forces. But, I have no illusions whatsoever that the Northern Alliance forces are knights on white horses. In fact i think that it is safe to assume that their regime will be less than a democratic paradise. However, I am equally confident that it will be far better for the people than life under the Taliban, and it will be a long time (if ever) before Afghanistan is used as a base of terrorist operations against the U.S. Fionn will just have to learn to live with the fact that the good guys (us) are prevailing. If he/she doesn't then he/she should start arguing the point with the Afghan women who have been transformed from beggars back to practicing law, medicine, etc. overnight.