With the Taliban winning the propaganda war, due to world public opinion condemning too many civilian deaths and what little has been achieved so far with the attacks within Afghanistan -- and with terror and chaos being far more effective from the enemy onto the American people, Pakistan and other countries within the Coalition, than it is onto bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda Network or even the cruel Taliban regime -- this war has now reached a stalemate!

And with Ramadan approaching fast, more problems are arising over the decision to pause or not. There are many good reasons for not doing so, one is the absurdity of it all that has never been known before during any past war -- I mean, should we also call a pause for our Christmas three day religious holiday? Another is that it will allow the enemy to regroup and reform -- and not that they will halt from their terrorist acts or plans, and neither will the Taliban pause with their football stadium executions of Afghani men and women -- in fact, it will allow them more time to catch up with their backlog.

Yet, if we don't pause -- more food for the Taliban propaganda war, in how the coalition Arab and Muslim States and people will view it, the war and us.

Then we have Winter just around the corner, where it has been reported that up in the mountains, the temperatures can go as low as minus fifty degrees -- where the Taliban forces will head for if ground troops go in. So its now seems that it is unlikely that ground forces will be used until year 2002 and possibly not until around their early Spring.

And while all that is going on -- Pakistan, an important key player in this war, is asking for the war to be accomplished quickly in order to quell the daily growing tensions within their own land, and be fully able to maintain their support.

The whole thing is turning into no more than a farce.

Despite all the speeches and ongoing daily doses of rhetoric; Tony Blair making yet another one today, ordinary people within the coalition countries, are beginning to find their spirits and enthusiasm for this war being dampened on a daily basis -- it is not that they are against the war, but against the way it is being both fought and run.

Instead of feeling both strong and proud of our efforts and achievements in this war on terrorism, the results from the planners are leaving us many times with egg on our faces and giving us nothing but total humiliation.

The enemy must be laughing at us.

In Britain alone, the once September 11th majority for war, has done a complete turnaround, in a call that reflects their dissatisfaction of how this war is being fought. And I stand amongst them.

This war was acted upon too fast, mainly because the enemy was underestimated and was not so easily frightened into giving up, by either the size of the task force or its effect. That, and a strong will to satisfy the emotions of the September 11th masses, of which world leaders should remain above and be unaffected -- was probably the only real plans they had to begin with. And now, were bogged down in a mess..,

We have reached a Stalemate, and I wonder if anybody in charge, really knows what to do next.

Christine Peters (From UK) Hamburg