ABSTRACT
When America fired the first salvo in its war against terrorism by attacking targets in Afghanistan in October, 2001, the parallels and differences with the last major US offensive in the Middle East could not be more striking. Then, as now, the US was the world's sole superpower with a huge military advantage over its enemy. America led in the battlefield as well as in the diplomatic arena. Then, as now, the US embraced multilateralism to legitimize the offensive and ensure its success by securing material and financial support from other nations.
