Taliban still not beaten in Afghanistan: US

Former Afghan King Mohammed Zahir Shah (R) Afghan President Hamid Karzai (2R) Former Afghan President Hazrat Sebghatullah Mujadidi (3R), US Vice-President Dick Cheney (2L) and Mrs Cheney (L) attend a swearing in ceremony for Afghan President Hamid Karzai at The Presidential Palace in Kabul yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

US Vice President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in Kabul for the inauguration of Karzai, both warned of the danger from militants in the country.

"The military mission is not over," Rumsfeld told US special forces at Bagram Air Base just north of Kabul. "It is not over, there are still groups, extremists, that would like to take this country back."

He said the Taliban and al-Qaeda wanted to use Afghanistan "as a base for terrorist acts around the world as they did on 9/11. But it isn't going to happen."

Cheney highlighted the same threat when he spoke to troops separately at Bagram, where both US leaders arrived for the inauguration.

"Freedom still has enemies here in Afghanistan," Cheney told US forces "and you are here to make these enemies miserable," he added to cheers.

Karzai, Cheney and Rumsfeld discussed the extremist threat as well as rising drug production in Afghanistan during talks before the inauguration.

The Afghan leader, who won an election in October, played down the threat at a press conference after the talks and also hailed the US role in bringing democracy to the country.

Karzai said the danger was more from individuals rather than groups such as the Taliban.