Reply #3: Even if this was the case...

[Earth_First]

that Taliban soldiers were massing in order to carry out a massive operation... (...sorry I've just grown incredibly cynical of any media reporting as of late) ...why do I get the sneaking suspicion that "hundreds" of Taliban soldiers en mass will be allowed to disperse accordingly afterwords; and the Pentagon will use the typical channels of dissemination to inform the weary masses that a number two al-Qa eda terrorist was confirmed shot/injured/killed/captured and the attempts to arrest/detain/suspend operations were futile with many of the fighters were allowed to retreat into the same hills which they had massed to carry out the 'spectacular' attack.