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Friday, Oct. 26, 2001

"We demand the warring parties of Afghanistan, the USA and its allies end their operations as early as possible," read one of the resolutions adopted after the two-day conference in Peshawar, Pakistan. "They should rather pave ground for a political solution and understanding to ensure on the one hand protection of life of innocent people, and on the other hand prevention of further destruction of Afghanistan."

Since Oct. 7, the United States and Britain have bombed terrorist bases and other targets in Afghanistan in retaliation for the Taliban's refusal to hand over bin Laden. Washington says bin Laden masterminded the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington that killed some 6,000 people.

The air strikes have led to speculation that the Taliban could be replaced.

Reports: Taliban Killed bin Laden

Unconfirmed reports out of China carried by the Japanese media suggested that bin Laden and Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar might have been assassinated by Taliban forces Oct. 16.

The meeting of the Conference for Peace and National Unity in Peshawar also demanded that Afghanistan's former King Mohammed Zahir Shah, along with other prominent Afghans, should play an "effective role, according to his moderate and balanced policy, to put an end to this crisis.''

The resolution adopted at the end of the two-day meeting said "those foreigners who add more to our miseries" should leave Afghanistan. The reference was to bin Laden.

"They should not exploit any longer the hospitality of Afghans," the resolution said.

Although President Bush had earlier said the United States wanted bin Laden "dead or alive," on Thursday Washington and its main ally in the war against terrorist, Britain, appeared divided on the ease with which the Saudi suspect could be captured.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at a news briefing.

"I suspect it's easier to change the Taliban leadership over time than necessarily to simultaneously, or before the fact, find a specific person," he said. "But we certainly intend to find him."

He had earlier told USA Today that it would be "very difficult" to capture or kill bin Laden.

"It's a big world," he told the paper. "There are lots of countries. He's got a lot of money, he's got a lot of people who support him and I just don't know whether we'll be successful."

Across the Atlantic, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the Telegraph newspaper that bin Laden "is well protected and well armed, and I have always thought it somewhat unlikely he will turn up in court one day, but we will wait and see."

Asked whether he thought it better that bin Laden be killed rather than captured, Blair said simply, "I think it is better that he be stopped."

As to whether the British were entitled to assassinate bin Laden, he replied: "We are entitled to take action against him. A U.N. Security Council resolution authorized that."

That action has included strikes against suspected bases of bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization and other targets. The Taliban has said the strikes have killed hundreds of civilians; the United States acknowledges some civilian casualties, but says the Taliban figures are exaggerated.

"Though we are concerned about any number of unintended civilian casualties, to be honest, the one number, the one horrific number that stands foremost in my mind, is the over 5,000 men, women and children that were killed on September 11, intentionally killed by the terrorists," Gen. Richard Myers said.

On Thursday, the Taliban said the United States was using cluster bombs in its attacks. The U.N. office in Islamabad said nine Afghan villagers were killed in cluster-bomb attacks this week. The United States said "the entire spectrum" of weapons that are appropriate to the target were being used.

In other news Thursday: