Pentagon briefers say almost half of Iraq's original tank force has been destroyed or badly damaged.

But part of the problem for the White House and Pentagon briefers is that there is only so much that they can, or are willing, to report.

The nice clean surgical strike that the Pentagon briefers likened to the sure, precise prick of a rapier had turned into a radioactive bludgeon.

It's absurd, even mischievous, when Pentagon briefers defer to extreme sensibility and refer to the Arabian Gulf.

Pentagon briefers have refused to discuss what the pilots are trying to bomb, or whether they have destroyed particular targets.

By November 1989 Pentagon briefers were laying out plans to reduce army end strength by 23%, from 750,000 to 580,000.

In recent days, Pentagon briefers have sent out conflicting signals about the strength of the Taliban forces.

The Pentagon briefers said they thought the cruise missile that fell on the Rashid had been hit by the dense antiaircraft fire.

"I have a lot of sympathy for what the Pentagon briefers are going through now," he said.

To hear the Pentagon briefers tell it, virtually all the bombs were smart - or at least above average - and were dropping with surgical precision.