IT is disturbing that the United States's efforts in Afghanistan appear to be concentrated exclusively on hunting down Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida cohorts.

While bin Laden should be brought to justice, this objective must not be the sole purpose of the military and diplomatic action undertaken since September 11.

The campaign against international terrorism will not be won merely by the destruction of the Taliban and al-Qaida.

The world - particularly the Muslim world - will not forgive the US if, having bombed the Taliban into submission, it leaves behind a political vacuum in Afghanistan.

By washing its hands of the turmoil and tribal strife in Afghanistan, the US risks leaving the country descending into civil war and anarchy.

That legacy will become a breeding ground for Muslim fanaticism and anti-American sentiment across the world. In such circumstances international terrorism will not be defeated, but strengthened.

It is vital that our Prime Minister remains steadfast in his pledge not to walk away from Afghanistan.

And it is vital that he uses his close relationship with President Bush to ensure the US does not fail in its duty.

Britain is right to resist the temptation to keep its forces out of Afghanistan. It is right to negotiate with the Northern Alliance and persuade it of our peaceful intentions.

In a country destroyed by civil war for two decades, it is asking too much of United Nations officials to broker a political settlement on their own. An international presence is essential to prevent the country slipping back into yet another era of faction-fighting.

The UN must bring together the various tribes and factions to form a broad-based interim government. To do so, it needs the support of a genuinely international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, made up not only of US and British troops, but also of soldiers from Muslim states.

If the war on terrorism is to be successful, and if the international coalition against terrorism is to hold together, stability must emerge from the ruins of Afghanistan.

The efforts of the US and Britain to win a peace in Afghanistan must be as concerted as the military efforts to defeat bin Laden and his Taliban keepers.