The United States has defeated the Taliban in Afghanistan but Al-Qaida terrorists they supported are still a large and will be difficult to find, a top Pentagon official said on Monday. “It ain't over yet,” Deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. “We've accomplished our one major objective, which is the defeat of the Taliban. Large numbers of Al-Qaida terrorists are still at large. It's going to be a very long and difficult job.”
As US bombers continued to rain weaponry on suspected terrorist hide-outs in the mountains of Afghanistan, Wolfowitz said that it is very difficult to determine how many terrorists, their supporters, or even key leaders have been killed in the operation. Wolfowitz said there is no clear evidence that top terrorist leader Osama bin Laden has fled Afghanistan, but the war against his network has seriously impeded his ability to operate. “He doesn't have a lot of good options,” The deputy secretary said.
“The US effort will continue, with US forces focusing on blocking possible escape routes and to hit sanctuaries where the terrorists might have fled,” Wolfowitz said. Earlier, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said that the fighting in Afghanistan is fierce.
“It's pretty intense fighting and pretty intense activity,” She said, speaking of US bombing and anti-Taliban fighting in the holdout areas around Jalalabad and Tora Bora. Bureau Report