Amos, the one thing that Bin Laden has repeatedly stated in his announcements and that appears to have enraged him the most is the deployment of US troops on Saudi soil. Hes not the type to be going around letterwriting and protesting with a placard. Youre talking about someone with an extreme belief system and trying to apply rational western logic doesnt always work. (Especially when religion is involved) If logic was used they ought to be thankful for the help the US gave the mujahedeen - by training and arming them during the Soviet conflict. Or he should have been outraged at Saddam Hussein for invading Kuwait, gasing the Kurds etc I mean the few cruise missiles that Clinton lobbed at the training camps in Afghanistan (which in retrospect, was obviously shooting from the hip) is what really got them all enraged?

I think actually the suggestion above that the US (as well as the west help the Afghani citizens ie. food and medical supply drops (and possibly wind up radios and send out anti-Taliban broadcasts (say by the Northern Alliance - while jamming the Talibans broadcast) - would make it a lot more difficult for them to gather support against the west and unite against an invader. (in this case the US could take a lesson from El Cid who fought the Moors in Spain and instead of catapulting rocks and fire at the besieged target he lobbed loaves of bread) giving him the ultimate victory (right now I cant remember the name of the city.)

At the same time they could launch surgical strikes at Taliban targets with the help from the North.

The US has absolutely no interest in invading Afghanistan or attempting to hold something that cannot be held. (the Russians thought they could hold the country by holding the cities and ended up doing neither. (They were also falling apart as a state.)

also any wider conflict where there are heavy civilian casualties would increase anti US sentiment in the Muslim world which is what Bin Laden wants.