Lt. Gen. David Barno, commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, listens to question during an interview in Kabul. Lt. Gen. David Barno, commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, listens to a question during an interview in the U.S. central command centre in Kabul on September 27, 2004. More than 17,000 U.S. and allied troops are fighting an insurgency waged by the Taliban, overthrown in 2001 for supporting Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan