Afghanistan remains as chaotic as ever. It is three days now that Kabul has fallen, the Taliban are down but not yet out; the Northern Alliance is trying to reign in its constituents and asking them not to resume any bloodletting as they once did after the Soviet army retreated in the late 80s. The US, along with the United Nations (UN), are trying to work out a post-Taliban arrangement but no one is sure what that would look like. Amidst all this chaos, reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar continues to threaten the Americans saying, "Don't write us off; we will be back and destroy
you as well."

Mullah Omar was in a threatening mood. In his first interview to any media organization, Omar told the BBC through a satellite telephone, "You (the western media and the Americans) have created the current situation. Our goal is the destruction of America. The plan is going ahead and, God willing, it is being implemented." He even claimed, "We still control four or five provinces and you will
see many more coming back to our control." For all his big talk, the truth is that Mullah Omar is very confused and scared of desertion in his own ranks.

The Northern Alliance-backed Ghulam Rabbani-headed government is back in the game in Kabul, but in Kabul only. Other major provinces and towns may have slipped out of the Taliban's hands but they are not in Alliance hands either. "The Taliban, while retreating, have handed over towns and provinces to those they had taken them from. Herat, for instance, has been handed over to Gulbadeen Hekmatyar's supporters, who have no love for the Northern Alliance," a source informed from Pakistan.

As former president Rabbani prepares to reach Kabul, ousted king and current American favourite Zaheer Shah is also having his say. "I urge you to safeguard life, property and also be vigilant in preventing foreign designs from inflicting more harm on our people", Shah declared in a statement from Rome after granting an audience to Italian and French foreign ministers.

Both the UN and the US appointed their own respective special envoys who will try to work out an alternative arrangement that may help bring some sanity in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Taliban insist they only retreated to avoid unnecessary bloodbath
and damage. "We will now be concentrating on ground battle and go for a prolonged guerrilla warfare", a Taliban source based in Islamabad informed tehelka. What is particularly alarming is that latest CNN reports say the Taliban may be armed with nuclear and chemical weapons. A desperate Taliban may prove deadly in their
final defeat.

The US alliance, led by the UN, should step into the vacuum that has engulfed Afghanistan with the retreat of Taliban. Afghanistan has once again slipped into the hands of factional and tribal warlords without any central authority. It may be that these warlords are behaving themselves for the time being. But unless the UN and the US step in a big way, Afghanistan may soon slip into another international nightmare.