>That's a good point. If al-Qaeda really was part of the Taliban, then we
>really would have been at war with Afghanistan. ObL certainly says there
>is a war against the US, and if he's speaking as a member of the Afghan
>government, then you're correct.
>
>I'm open to this possibility, but I haven't seen anything to convince me of
>it yet. And is this really the position of the Bush Administration? I've
>always heard them say that the Taliban is harboring al-Qaeda. I've never
>heard anyone say they are indistinguishable.
I've read accounts - in the Financial Times, I think - saying that al Q folks were in the Taliban defense ministry. It's been widely reported that al Q subsidized the Taliban government, too. "Indistinguishable" might be an exaggeration, but deeply enmeshed wouldn't be.
And lots of both aren't Afghans, so the sovereignty issue gets very complicated.
Doug