Omar Wants 'Extinction of America'
By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writer
KABUL, Afghanistan (news - web sites) (AP) - Despite a series of stunning setbacks that cost the Taliban their grip on the capital and deprived them of huge swaths of territory, Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar remained defiant in a BBC interview broadcast Thursday, saying he'd rather die than ``join an evil government'' with the country's former leader.
The Taliban pullback from urban centers, he said, was part of a larger strategy that aims to destroy America.
``If God's help is with us, this will happen within a short period of time - keep in mind this prediction,'' he said. ``The real matter is the extinction of America, and God willing, it will fall to the ground.''
Mullah Omar also ruled out taking part in a multiethnic government like that the United Nations (news - web sites) has proposed for Afghanistan.
``The struggle for a broad-based government has been going on for the last 20 years, but nothing came of it,'' he said. ``We will not accept a government of wrongdoers. We prefer death than to be a part of an evil government.''
The BBC asked the questions through an intermediary over a satellite phone, who passed them on to the Taliban leader through a hand-held radio. Earlier Thursday, the private Afghan Islamic Press agency reported that Omar was in a safe place and in charge of his troops.