NATO chief sees Taliban finished by 2009

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The head of NATO, speaking in Germany, predicted a military victory over the Taliban in Afghanistan by 2009.

Secretary-General Japp de Hoop Scheffer told a conference in Munich that breaking the Taliban would require a continued ground presence by NATO, although in two years Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government should become more self-sufficient, Sky News reported.

Scheffer's statements came a few days after a U.S. commander warned that spring would likely bring a Taliban offensive, and announced that U.S. troops in the country would have their tours extended in anticipation of more fighting.