The top general in charge of US operations in Afghanistan said this morning the US could soon deploy ground forces in addition to the special troops already stationed in Afghanistan.
"All forms of military forces stay on the table and possibly one or other type of forces will be deployed in Afghanistan," said Gen Tommy Franks, head of the US Central Command.
"Concerning what I call conventional forces ... we have not taken that off the table," said Gen Franks, who during his three-day stay in Uzbekistan visited a former Soviet base where some 2,000 US soldiers are stationed.
Gen Franks said that "we may or we may not" introduce ground forces to flush out suspected terrorists from the remaining Taliban strongholds.
"We may introduce small numbers of ground forces," he said. Yesterday, the Pentagon said around 2,300 US Marines were awaiting orders to back up other US forces operating in Afghanistan.
Gen Franks said he had also held talks with Tajik President Mr Emomali Rakhmonov and visited opposition Northern Alliance positions in Bagram, near Kabul, becoming the most senior US commander to visit Afghanistan.
The US general divulged few details of his talks with Mr Rakhmonov, saying only that the two discussed the US use of military bases and landing strips in the former Soviet republic that neighbors Afghanistan to the northeast - close to the last Taliban stronghold of Kunduz.
The two sides have reached a tentative agreement of US use of Tajik airstrips, although officials in Washington note that most facilities in Tajikistan are disrepair and would have to be rebuilt first.
Gen Franks said he was satisfied with his Bagram visit, saying that he came to make sure that US special forces were getting along with the Northern Alliance commanders on the battlefield.
"I am not at all surprised with how quickly the Taliban regime is falling," said Gen Franks, while stressing that the US had no plans to let up its campaign after the opposition's "good progress" over the past 10 days.
AFP