“American military chiefs believe that the global war against terrorism will last at least six years,” The Telegraph reports. “Pentagon officials are being advised to draw up budgets and plans to buy new equipment on the assumption that the struggle against al-Qa’eda and other international terrorist groups will endure until 2008, and perhaps even longer.”

Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, has won President Bush’s backing for a sharp increase in military spending.

Extra money will be allocated for more of the weapons that have proved useful in Afghanistan, such as unmanned surveillance and attack aircraft.

The increased spending will continue whether or not Osama bin Laden is found soon.

As well it should. Usama could be nothing more now than the pulpy dust on a pulverized rock for all we know. But his cachet is gone. Let’s go out looking for latent cells and rip them out by their soon to be money-starved roots.

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