1.   His immediate priority, though, was to weld a disparate group of men into a cohesive fighting force.

2.   Peter de la Billiere, will no longer be welcome at the table of the heroic fighting force he once led.

3.   They are a well-trained, disciplined and efficient fighting force.

4.   The victory looks rather hollow.

5.   That takes nothing away from the courage and skill of the fighting forces.

6.   Four thousand troops have been reorganized into a fighting force.

7.   A fighting force that could be roused instantly from dormancy to action.

8.   An effective internal opposition could develop into a potential fighting force and perhaps the nucleus of a future government.

9.   And at night, the special forces teams helicoptered into various parts of Afghanistan, and hooked up with the local fighting force.

10.   Atta Muhammad, the Tajik general who commands the largest fighting force in northern Afghanistan, was assigned by Kabul to bring these factions together.