"It does not surprise me that someone would say, 'Oh gosh, the military is going to be in Afghanistan for a long, long time.' Sure we will be," Franks said at a Pentagon news briefing.

"One would expect a maturation of the government inside Afghanistan, one would expect the training of the Afghan national army, border security forces, police forces and so forth, to come along in accordance with a plan," Franks said, adding that US troops will be reduced as progress is made in these aspects.

Present at the same news briefing, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the ultimate goal for US forces is to ensure that Afghanistan becomes capable of providing its own security.

"We didn't go in there to leave in a way that allows it to turnback into a terrorist training camp," he said, adding that the establishment of a unified Afghan national army is a key to prevent such an outcome.

During a public appearance in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday, Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US-led global war against terror may go on for many years.

"It could last years and years, so we must be patient," Myers said. He noted that the US must destroy the al-Qaida network completely before it can launch new attacks on the US.

The US has so far deployed about 8,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the Afghan war broke out in October last year. Apart from continuing the hunting for Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives, the US troops are also providing training for an Afghan national army.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2002)