[Just don't call it nation building!]
Financial Times -- World New Digest Lydia Adetunji, Washington
Troops set for long Afghan stay
US troops will remain in Afghanistan for years to prevent al-Qaeda and Taliban forces from regrouping or re-entering the country, General Tommy Franks, the head of US central command, and Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, acknowledged yesterday.
General Franks did not predict how long it would be before the maturation of the Afghan government and the training of Afghan forces would mean US troops were needed less.
Mr. Rumsfeld said US troops in Afghanistan -- currently numbering about 8,000 -- had moved from deposing the Taliban to preventing it from "taking the country back over and turning it into a terrorist training camp."