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Don't assume Taleban has collapsed: Pentagon

T V Parasuram in Washington

The Pentagon on Thursday said despite the rapid advances made by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, it would be dangerous to assume that the Taleban had collapsed and the United States-led war against terrorism was over.

"To believe that we have a collapse and therefore are now watching the dismantlement of the Taleban to the point where they are ineffective -- that could be a dangerous assumption," Pentagon spokesman, Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem, said.

"We still believe that we have a hard job in front of us. And it may still take some time," he said, adding, "the war is by no means over."

While the Taleban forces were abandoning the cities, their motivation remained unclear, he said, adding the US lacked sufficient information to assess whether the retreat was a strategic withdrawal or a genuine military defeat.

"It may be that they are regrouping. It may be that they are abandoning and retreating," he said.

Some Taleban forces might be heading west of their traditional stronghold of Kandahar, while others might be trying to get into Pakistan, Stufflebeem said.

PTI

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