Taliban willing to negotiate

KABUL, Afghanistan – Four weeks into the U.S.-led air campaign, a senior Taliban official said yesterday the ruling militia is willing to negotiate an end to the conflict. But he demanded proof of Osama bin Laden's involvement in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"That's the message for Americans," chief Taliban spokesman Amir Khan Muttaqi said in an interview with the first Western reporter allowed into Kabul since the bombing began Oct. 7.

President Bush launched the air assault after the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden, chief suspect in the terrorist attack.

"We do not want to fight," Muttaqi told The Associated Press. "We will negotiate. But talk to us like a sovereign country. We are not a province of the United States, to be issued orders to. We have asked for proof of Osama's involvement, but they have refused. Why?"

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Taliban already had plenty of proof.

"All one has to do is watch television to find Osama bin Laden claiming responsibility for the September 11 bombings," Boucher said. "There is no question of responsibility. There is no question of the responsibility of the Taliban and there's no question of what they should do."