“‘The Americans think we are afraid while we recognise them as cowards,’ said the young man, the commander of this small band of fighters in this village. ‘We have many heroes who are standing here and elsewhere. We will not be afraid of their tanks and their weapons and their other equipment. We will stay until we defeat them.’
“Suddenly the gunmen scattered, unnerved by the sound of an approaching US helicopter. Villagers who had been standing in the street fled into their shops and houses and, within seconds, the crossroads was deserted.”
