Suspected threat: Osama bin Laden heads an informal network known as al-Queda and can reportedly rally some 3,000 supporters within Afghanistan. He is believed to run a network of training camps throughout Afghanistan but there are many other organisations which he is believed to support elsewhere. The US believes that Bin Laden's Afghan camps are the centre of this worldwide terrorist network where volunteers are indoctrinated, militarily trained and prepared for terrorist action.

Possible US Action: Militarily, the US may find it difficult to pin down what should be attacked and how, given the murky intelligence picture. The US may choose to first rely on Cruise missile attack from warships. While the US may easily destroy suspected camps, it may find that it will need Special Forces on the ground if it chooses to attack individuals such as Bin Laden himself.