U-S Vice President Dick Cheney says the military defeat of the Taleban in Afghanistan is a good start to what he says will be the long-term fight against terrorism.
Mr. Cheney says the Taleban is in flight all over Afghanistan. For security reasons, the vice president has been little seen in public since the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States.
Mr. Cheney's comments in Washington Wednesday were mirrored by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London.
Mr. Blair told parliament the Taleban is in "total collapse." He said that while pockets of resistance may continue, support for the Taleban inside Afghanistan is evaporating.
Mr. Blair would not rule out an eventual offensive front-line role for British soldiers in Afghanistan.