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	December 18, 2001
	After this Spencer Michels background report on the final stages of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, three military experts discuss the next phase of the war on terrorism.

SPENCER MICHELS: Playing music that had been forbidden under the Taliban, Afghans celebrated what they considered the end of Taliban rule in the southern city of Kandahar today. For many Afghans, the war has been won. MAN: Now I feel very happy, and all of the people in the city, which I have seen are very happy and we have now got freedom. SPENCER MICHELS: But U.S. officials said today the war in Afghanistan is far from over despite the withdrawal of opposition forces in the North. They said Osama bin Laden and supreme Taliban leader Mullah Omar are still at large. There are reports that some Taliban fighters have retreated to a town 100 miles northwest of Kandahar called Baghran. Intelligence forces say Mullah Omar may be among them. U.S. officials acknowledge that some al-Qaida soldiers may have fled across the border into Pakistan. Anti-Taliban forces report they have captured thousands of prisoners. The U.S. puts the figure in the hundreds, and says it has custody of about 20 for interrogation. Speaking at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld acknowledged there's still no sign of Osama bin Laden. DONALD RUMSFELD: The effort continues. Neither he nor Omar or several of the other senior Taliban or al-Qaida leadership have been located. We have reduced the number of areas within Afghanistan where they're likely to be. Those areas are being attacked from the ground by Afghan forces with the support of coalition forces. They are being attacked from the air. And additional prisoners have been taken today, additional ground has been covered, and progress continues to be made. But the task is still ahead of us, and it should not be considered that it will be accomplished in a short period of time. It's going to be tough, dirty, hard work. SPENCER MICHELS: Rumsfeld said U.S. forces are working closely with Pakistani troops to prevent the escape of bin Laden. DONALD RUMSFELD: The government of Pakistan has been enormously cooperative. They have been a terrific help in this effort. There is no question but that the president of Pakistan has deployed a large number of Pakistan army forces along the Pakistan-Afghan border. The reason, obviously, is because those borders are porous, and we are putting a great deal of pressure on the Taliban and the al-Qaida forces in Afghanistan, which is causing them to move and flee and run and hide. And one of the places they can flee to is Pakistan. And needless to say, the president of Pakistan has a minimum of high regard for that possibility. He... He does not want those forces coming into his country, and therefore, he is doing a good job. SPENCER MICHELS: At the Pentagon, Rumsfeld's deputy said U.S. troops faced a daunting task, searching hundreds of caves in the Tora Bora region. PAUL WOLFOWITZ: Look, I think it's possible he could be dead in the bottom of one of them, and I don't think unless General Pace wants to put a timetable on it, I think I'd be very wary of suggesting how long it's going to take to even find out what we can find out. After all, one of the things we've found out over the course of time is that there were more caves there than we realized before we started this operation. So I would hesitate to predict. GEN. PETER PACE: This really is very, very difficult. First of all, you have several valleys in the Tora Bora complex. Each of them is several miles long. In each of those valleys you have several hundred caves. And you want to go through very methodically, one by one, and if it's been closed by bombs, determine whether or not you want to open it up to see what's in there. And if it's not been closed by bombs, you have to determine whether or not it's worth going in. So it's going to be step by step, cave by cave, and to put a time limit on that would be imprudent right now. SPENCER MICHELS: As American soldiers work to establish bases from which to operate in Afghanistan, they are faced with the grim reality that the country is one of the most heavily land mined in the world. Removing the mines is dangerous duty. SPOKESPERSON: Fire the hole. SPENCER MICHELS: In just three days, four Marines have been involved in accidents while clearing mines. One lost a foot today at Bagram airport. Three others were injured Sunday near the Kandahar airport.