Tom Eighmy

Tom Eighmy

The humanitarian crisis is real , said Thomas H. Eighmy , a native of Buffalo and a former U.S. international development official who now serves as a consultant to the Afghanistan-America Foundation.We'll be responding as strongly as we can..

U.S. officials hope that humanitarian aid also has political and even military benefits.

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That realization , combined with military pressure and maybe some selective and carefully hidden payoffs , could lead to defections that would undermine the Taliban's strength , Eighmy said.

Military pressure from the Taliban's main internal nemesis - the Northern Alliance - could help , too.The United States told the Northern Alliance about the bombing raids before they were launched , prompting the rebel group to mount an assault of its own against Taliban forces.

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And Eighmy said an international organization , rather than the United States , will have to take the lead in rebuilding Afghanistan's government , lest the new regime look like an American puppet.

No matter how things turn out for Afghanistan , experts say the fall of the Taliban would spell huge problems for bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network.