Analysts predict air strikes and special forces raids

Analysts say America's military response to the terrorist attacks is likely to be a series of air strikes and relatively small-scale raids by special forces.

Military officials are also signalling operations may move beyond the primary potential target, Afghanistan.

While such tactics would put fewer US soldiers in harm's way, small raids would be unlikely to capture Osama bin Laden without excellent intelligence, analysts believe.

Retired Army General Fred Woerner, former head of the US Southern Command, said: "If we were acting on good intelligence, it would be something like the Delta Force, trying to go in covertly, nail him and then go out covertly."

He went on: "I would anticipate our future actions to be on the small scale, not the large scale."

"It's high-risk, and you may get lucky, depending on intelligence, but the chances of failure are great," said Harlan Ullman, who teaches strategy at the National Defence University.

Military officials have begun deploying fighters and bombers to the Gulf to aid in what President George W Bush is calling a new war on terrorism.

Defence Department officials have been tight-lipped about their plans and have indicated they have not decided precisely what strikes to make.

Paul Wolfowitz, who is number two at the Defence Department, said any military action would be coordinated with diplomatic, law enforcement and economic efforts.

"We're going into a sustained campaign," Mr Wolfowitz said. "It's going to be a long series of actions."