asterisk users - Mar 2011 - Asterisk with FXO card only, no network

All-

My apologies in advance if this is an obvious question and I've missed it on
Asterisk FAQs and how-to's...

Can Asterisk operate with just an FXO card?  By that I mean, no network
connection (none, no local network).  I want
to build some type of user interface to go off-hook, route FXO port voice lines
to a headset (or speaker and
microphone), perform an automated conversation (e.g. playout from sound card),
and go back on-hook.

The reason for this is automated test -- I'm trying to find a flexible,
programmable way to emulate two (2) analog
handsets.  The test software would make a series of calls between them
(different lines/numbers connected to the 2 FXO
ports).  (As a side note, the test software also interfaces with other equipment
(RS-232 or USB), and the whole
sequence will eventually be automated and may take several hours to complete a
regression test.)

Again, I apologize for the dumbness of this question.  We use Asterisk as a
B2BUA all the time but this particular
question came up recently.  Thanks.

-Jeff