What next in the war on terror? (U.S. and the World).

The Taliban have been driven from power in Afghanistan. But as President Bush told the nation in his State of the Union address last month, the war against terrorism is not over. Terrorist groups still operate in many countries. Here is what is happening.

Afghanistan's New Government

Afghanistan has an interim (temporary) leader, Hamid Karzai. Last month, Karzai visited President Bush at the White House, where Bush pledged U.S. economic and military aid in rebuilding Afghanistan.

It was the first time in 39 years that an Afghan leader had visited the White House. Karzai urged Afghan exiles to return home to help their country. "Without your cooperation, we're not going to make it," he said.

U.S. Troops Go to the Philippines

Meanwhile, the hunt for Al Qaeda and other terrorists continues. The first of about 650 US troops arrived in the Philippines in January, to train soldiers in fighting terrorists.

The Philippine Army has so far been unsuccessful in destroying a local terror network known as Abu Sayyaf, or "bearer of the sword." The group is fighting for the independence of Muslim areas in the southern Philippines.

Terrorist Attack Thwarted

U.S. forces thwarted a planned attack on the U.S. embassy in Yemen, after obtaining information from Al Qaeda prisoners captured in Afghanistan.

"American Taliban" on Trial

John Walker Lindh, a 20-year-old Californian, is on trial for supporting Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and conspiring to kill fellow Americans. Known as the "American Taliban," Lindh was captured in Afghanistan on December 1. He could face life in prison if found guilty.

U.S. government officials say that Lindh trained with Al Qaeda and had advance knowledge of the September 11 attacks. According to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Lindh "chose to join the terrorists who wanted to kill Americans."

Treatment of Prisoners Criticized

The U.S. has sent 158 suspected terrorists captured in Afghanistan to the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Several nations, including U.S. allies in Europe, have complained that the suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters are not being treated fairly.

World leaders want the U.S. to apply the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which call for humane treatment of prisoners of war. But granting the detainees prisoner-of-war status would allow them to refuse giving information other than their name, rank, and serial number.

"We are not going to call [the detainees] prisoners of war," said President Bush. "These are killers, these are terrorists, they know no countries." Bush insisted that the detainees were "being well treated."