The Northern Alliance is waiting impatiently for a US bombing campaign to begin. But the US has backed off from a bombing campaign because of the lack of targets and information on who is doing what within Taliban territory. Reconnaissance aircraft (manned and unmanned) are being brought into Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, while ground patrols are entering from these nations and Pakistan. 

 The Northern Alliance has been making gains against the depleted Taliban forces, but most of this is moving into sparsely populated land and taking scattered villages. The Taliban forces have been losing their bin Laden fighters (who are leaving the country) and increasingly reluctant and depleted Afghans fighting for the Taliban. 

The former king of Afghanistan has told American officials that a new government in Afghanistan could contain members of the Taliban. Meanwhile, the Taliban arrested  six people for distributing pamphlets supporting the return of the deposed Afghan king Zahir Shah. This occurred in the cities  of Khost and Gardez. 

The Taliban has been moving thousands of its most reliable troops, foreign volunteers (mainly Arabs) around the Taliban stronghold in the southern city of Kandahar.