Tensions rise after tough talks in US, Kabul

islamabad: saber rattling raised tensions on monday as the afghan taliban threatened a punishing guerrilla war in response to a blunt warning from washington that it wants the ruling militia out of power. the taliban acknowledged on sunday that they are protecting osama bin laden, the prime suspect in the september 11 us terror attacks and reiterated that they would never surrender him. reclusive taliban leader mullah mohammad omar vowed that his forces would emerge victorious from a long guerrilla war if attacked by the united states. "the (taliban) government may collapse, but it will be the same as during the time of the jehad" against the soviet union, mullah omar said on the taliban-run radio shariat. "new fronts will be established, just like against the communists." he was referring to the war of resistance fought against the 1979-1989 soviet invasion of afghanistan, which ended in humiliation for the now-defunct soviet union and played a part in its eventual demise. "you may think it is easy, but the consequences for you will be very severe," he warned washington. "you may capture the airports and the capital and the cities, but people will go to the mountains. god willing, i believe that neither the us nor their allies will be able to do anything," he said. "they will only find the same destiny as the communists." the tough talk on both sides came as washington notched up preparations for military action with its boldest call yet for the taliban to be stripped of their rule. white house chief of staff andrew card said, "the taliban organization has worked in close concert with osama bin laden and the al qaida network," allegedly led by the saudi-born multimillionaire. "they (the taliban) cannot be a party to these terrorist acts, and if they're going to continue to be a party ... they should not be in power," he told fox news on sunday. but he stressed that washington's primary interest was in ridding the world of terrorists and their havens. his statement came after the taliban's ambassador to pakistan, abdul salam zaeef, told a press conference here: "osama bin laden is under the control of the islamic emirate of afghanistan ... in an unknown place for his safety and security." "i want to state categorically that bin laden will not be handed to anyone," zaeef said. the war of words intensified in the wake of a weekend conference in rome involving senior us congressmen, aghan opposition leaders and former king mohammed zahir shah to draw up the post-taliban political map of afghanistan. military movements to force the taliban leadership to surrender osama bin laden and accept a national government in kabul have begun with some major fighting forces already positioning themselves with the help of the us and other allied troops. pushed by some intelligence operatives of a european country, ismail khan, a legendary commander of herat during the afghan jehad days, is now ready to move on to the southern city kandahar, considered the spiritual capital of taliban. washington launched a wide-ranging military, diplomatic and financial campaign after it became the victim of the world's worst terror attack nearly three weeks ago, aiming to eliminate bin laden and his protectors and, in the long run, eradicate international terrorism. as the threat of strikes mounted, western aid sources in pakistan said the taliban were forcibly conscripting fighters from among tens of thousands of fleeing refugees to bolster positions north of kabul, on the frontline. the feared exodus of as many as 1.5 million afghan refugees in the wake of us military strikes having yet to materialize the un now shifted its focus to the millions of people dependent on food handouts inside afghanistan. a un official in peshawar, near the afghan border, said the first humanitarian aid to the besieged country since the attacks reached kabul monday. six trucks that entered afghanistan from the torkham border crossing sunday with some 200 tonnes of wheat arrived in the capital shortly before midday, un world food programme spokesman khaled mansour told afp. "the trucks have arrived in kabul and the supplies are being offloaded at our warehouse there," he said. "they reported no problems along the road and so we'll certainly be looking at sending other convoys very soon." another convoy of eight trucks was still making its way to the western city of herat after entering afghanistan from chaman, near quetta, and "should reach herat in the next couple of days," mansour said. but the taliban reported heavy fighting in the region, saying they had recaptured the qades district, which straddles the road linking herat with the central and northern provinces, after a three-hour battle monday. the afghan islamic press agency quoted taliban sources as saying the attack was part of a counter-offensive against the northern alliance, a loose grouping of ethnic minorities that controls the northern tenth of the country as well as several other pockets of resistence. the alliance, which has offered to cooperate with international forces pursuing bin laden, launched a series of attacks against the taliban in recent weeks but, vastly outnumbered in men and materiel, failed to make any significant gains. the new york times reported on monday that president bush had approved a covert plan to strengthen the northern alliance and stir up resistance among pashtun tribes in the south. although us officials gave no indication when they would strike, various sources have said that us, british - and perhaps australian - commandos are already involved in intelligence gathering operations inside afghanistan. divisions persisted among us allies whether there was enough solid proof to link bin laden to the september 11 carnage that left around 5,700 people dead, according to the latest count. british prime minister tony blair said sunday that he had seen "absolutely powerful and incontrovertible evidence" of bin laden's guilt. but pakistani president pervez musharraf told cnn news: "there is no evidence that has been shared with us as yet." in new york, the un general assembly was to meet later monday to discuss how to step up the fight against terrorism after the security council adopted a resolution last week threatening sanctions against countries that do fail to deny support to terrorists. in a sign of solidarity between the world body and the city that hosts its headquarters, new york mayor rudolph giuliani was expected to address the delegates - a first since the inauguration of the un building in 1952.