Nov. 15 ? As the Taliban finds itself confined to the southern part of Afghanistan in the face of rapid advances by the Northern Alliance, some members of the militia are looking to cut a deal to turn over Osama bin Laden and his top leaders, sources told ABCNEWS.
Sources told ABCNEWS that some of the Taliban are seeking a piece of the multimillion dollar reward for the accused terrorist mastermind, while others are looking for favorable treatment for themselves and their troops, who are trapped throughout the country. American officials are directly involved in these conversations, sources said.
Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem said tensions between the Taliban and bin Laden's al Qaeda organization are growing.
"We have seen reports, as they try to communicate one to another and in some cases Taliban amongst themselves that not ... every objective they wish to accomplish is going to be supported," he said today.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, visiting the site of the destroyed World Trade Center in New York, hinted there was new progress in the hunt for bin Laden, the prime suspect behind the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as the attacks on the USS Cole and U.S. embassies in Africa.
"Interrogations that have been held, the intelligence that's been gathered ? I think that every day we have a better chance of achieving our goals," he said.
Anti-Taliban forces gained control of the important eastern city of Jalalabad as reports surfaced of fighting in the streets of Kandahar ? the Taliban's birthplace, and perhaps its last stronghold.
In a further boost to the U.S.-led effort, eight foreign aid workers, including two Americans, held by the Taliban since August for allegedly preaching Christianity were rescued on Wednesday.
The Taliban militia has withdrawn from as much as 70 percent of territory it formerly occupied, and may now control less than 20 percent of the nation. But as Taliban forces retreat, some are coming forward with information about bin Laden.
New Strategies in Progress
Rumsfeld said that U.S. special operations troops in southern Afghanistan were now carrying out what he called "interdictions."
Officials told ABCNEWS these troops, for the first time, are setting up roadblocks on mountain highways and ambushing suspicious convoys, trying to rattle bin Laden operatives in the area.
The Northern Alliance says it controls 80 percent of Afghanistan. (ABCNEWS.com/Magellan Geographix)
U.S. intelligence sources said bin Laden and his inner circle have left the mountain caves where they were believed to be hiding and are now on the move, amid the Taliban's loss of nearly all of Afghanistan's major cities.
The interdictions are part of a shift in U.S. strategy as most of the hard-line Islamic militia and its al Qaeda allies have dispersed into the remote country of southwestern Afghanistan, making it harder for American air power to target them, Stufflebeem said.
"Where we can positively identify Taliban as such, we are pursuing them," he said. "It's difficult in the southern part of Afghanistan, west of Kandahar, to be able to positively identify what may be southern Pashtun tribes vs. Taliban troops that may be on the move."
With the Taliban having fled south, American officials have been appealing for help from local leaders unaffiliated with the opposition Northern Alliance.
As many as 23 Pashtun tribes in the south appeared to have risen up against the Taliban, although it was unclear if they were responding to U.S. appeals or taking advantage of the power vacuum.
"Whether or not they're working in concert, we don't know," Stufflebeem said.
He also said, "The U.S. is prepared if necessary to conduct a guerrilla war or a counter-guerrilla war."
Some plans continued unchanged though. Stufflebeem said the U.S. military would continue with plans to set up air bases both inside Afghanistan and outside it.
Despite reports of uprisings in Kandahar, home to the Taliban's reclusive spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, and the loss of the strategic Afghan city of Jalalabad, located near the famed Khyber Pass, Stufflebeem told reporters, "We don't assume that the job is nearly over with."
Taliban officials also insist they have not undergone a total collapse. "It was a strategic and tactical withdrawal from all these provinces," said Sohail Shaheen, the Taliban's deputy ambassador in Pakistan.
A Government (Still) in Limbo
In less than a week, Taliban control of the nation has plunged from 95 percent to just around 20 percent, the Northern Alliance said.
Caught off guard by the speed of the Taliban retreat, the international community has been frantically attempting to fill the potentially dangerous power vacuum in Afghanistan, despite assurances from the Northern Alliance of its eagerness to cooperate with a potential transitional coalition of multi-ethnic groups.
U.N. officials are meeting with representatives of Afghan groups and the "six-plus-two" nations, a loose alliance of Afghanistan's six neighbors plus Russia and the United States, to patch together a transitional government in Kabul.
In a 15-0 vote, the U.N. Security Council endorsed a British- and French-drafted resolution supporting U.N.special envoy for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi's plan for a two-year transitional government to bring Afghanistan's ethnic groups under one umbrella and for the establishment of a multinational security force to guard them.
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Sources told ABCNEWS that some of the Taliban are seeking a piece of the multimillion dollar reward for the accused terrorist mastermind, while others are looking for favorable treatment for themselves and their troops, who are trapped throughout the country. American officials are directly involved in these conversations, sources said.
Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem said tensions between the Taliban and bin Laden's al Qaeda organization are growing.
"We have seen reports, as they try to communicate one to another and in some cases Taliban amongst themselves that not ... every objective they wish to accomplish is going to be supported," he said today.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, visiting the site of the destroyed World Trade Center in New York, hinted there was new progress in the hunt for bin Laden, the prime suspect behind the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as the attacks on the USS Cole and U.S. embassies in Africa.
"Interrogations that have been held, the intelligence that's been gathered ? I think that every day we have a better chance of achieving our goals," he said.
Anti-Taliban forces gained control of the important eastern city of Jalalabad as reports surfaced of fighting in the streets of Kandahar ? the Taliban's birthplace, and perhaps its last stronghold.
In a further boost to the U.S.-led effort, eight foreign aid workers, including two Americans, held by the Taliban since August for allegedly preaching Christianity were rescued on Wednesday.
The Taliban militia has withdrawn from as much as 70 percent of territory it formerly occupied, and may now control less than 20 percent of the nation. But as Taliban forces retreat, some are coming forward with information about bin Laden.
New Strategies in Progress
Rumsfeld said that U.S. special operations troops in southern Afghanistan were now carrying out what he called "interdictions."
Officials told ABCNEWS these troops, for the first time, are setting up roadblocks on mountain highways and ambushing suspicious convoys, trying to rattle bin Laden operatives in the area.
The Northern Alliance says it controls 80 percent of Afghanistan. (ABCNEWS.com/Magellan Geographix)
U.S. intelligence sources said bin Laden and his inner circle have left the mountain caves where they were believed to be hiding and are now on the move, amid the Taliban's loss of nearly all of Afghanistan's major cities.
The interdictions are part of a shift in U.S. strategy as most of the hard-line Islamic militia and its al Qaeda allies have dispersed into the remote country of southwestern Afghanistan, making it harder for American air power to target them, Stufflebeem said.
"Where we can positively identify Taliban as such, we are pursuing them," he said. "It's difficult in the southern part of Afghanistan, west of Kandahar, to be able to positively identify what may be southern Pashtun tribes vs. Taliban troops that may be on the move."
With the Taliban having fled south, American officials have been appealing for help from local leaders unaffiliated with the opposition Northern Alliance.
As many as 23 Pashtun tribes in the south appeared to have risen up against the Taliban, although it was unclear if they were responding to U.S. appeals or taking advantage of the power vacuum.
"Whether or not they're working in concert, we don't know," Stufflebeem said.
He also said, "The U.S. is prepared if necessary to conduct a guerrilla war or a counter-guerrilla war."
Some plans continued unchanged though. Stufflebeem said the U.S. military would continue with plans to set up air bases both inside Afghanistan and outside it.
Despite reports of uprisings in Kandahar, home to the Taliban's reclusive spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, and the loss of the strategic Afghan city of Jalalabad, located near the famed Khyber Pass, Stufflebeem told reporters, "We don't assume that the job is nearly over with."
Taliban officials also insist they have not undergone a total collapse. "It was a strategic and tactical withdrawal from all these provinces," said Sohail Shaheen, the Taliban's deputy ambassador in Pakistan.
A Government (Still) in Limbo
In less than a week, Taliban control of the nation has plunged from 95 percent to just around 20 percent, the Northern Alliance said.
Caught off guard by the speed of the Taliban retreat, the international community has been frantically attempting to fill the potentially dangerous power vacuum in Afghanistan, despite assurances from the Northern Alliance of its eagerness to cooperate with a potential transitional coalition of multi-ethnic groups.
U.N. officials are meeting with representatives of Afghan groups and the "six-plus-two" nations, a loose alliance of Afghanistan's six neighbors plus Russia and the United States, to patch together a transitional government in Kabul.
In a 15-0 vote, the U.N. Security Council endorsed a British- and French-drafted resolution supporting U.N.special envoy for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi's plan for a two-year transitional government to bring Afghanistan's ethnic groups under one umbrella and for the establishment of a multinational security force to guard them.
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