>BTW that Moscow, Delhi, Beijing and Teheran should all
>view a US presence in the region as being preferable
>to continued Taliban control of Afghanistan says
>something about how dangerous they perceived the
>Taliban as being.>
I agree with Chris. However, it's more than Taliban control of Afghanistan that was and is at stake. It has to do with the possibility of Talibanisation of _Pakistani State_, a nuclear weapon state. Moreover, AQKhan was running a nuclear Wal-Mart for many years.
Ulhas