Blair in meeting with military advisers

British Prime Minister Tony Blair today spent an hour closeted with senior military advisers discussing the fall of Kabul and the dramatic collapse of the Taliban.

Commanders, including the Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Michael Boyce, briefed the British Prime Minister on the overnight events in Afghanistan and the implications for the military campaign.

Mr Blair’s official spokesman said that the Taliban appeared to be in retreat - rather than simply staging a tactical withdrawal - but stressed that that did not mean the campaign was over.

‘‘We should neither underestimate the achievement of the campaign nor the work left to be done,’’ the spokesman said.

‘‘This does not seem to be tactical retreat. The Taliban do seem to be paying the price for the way they governed but they do still remain a force that has to be dealt with.’’

He stressed that the US-led coalition still remained committed to achieving its objective of bringing Osama bin Laden and those responsible for the September 11 atrocities to account.

The spokesman acknowledged the speed of military developments had given a new urgency to the international diplomatic efforts to build a ‘‘broad-based’’ government to replace the Taliban.

The United Nations special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was due to brief the UN in New York on the progress that has been made, although the spokesman warned not to expect instant results.

‘‘Just as it was never realistic to expect instant results militarily so it is unrealistic to expect instant results in the establishment of a broad-based government,’’ he said.

Downing Street also acknowledged the need to re-establish order in the country, even though the Northern Alliance appeared so far to have kept its promise not to have moved into Kabul in force.

Although the deployment of coalition troops had not been ruled out, the spokesman stressed that they would need to take ‘‘a step by step’’ approach to the situation.

He hinted at the possibility that a peacekeeping force from predominantly Muslim nations - including Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia and Bangladesh - could be used to maintain order.

‘‘I think, in terms of that, we need to consider all options,’’ he said.

‘‘Any future deployment will want to recognise the political context in which such troops might be deployed and the sensitivities of the local people.’’