Jane Corbin: Al-Qa'ida is undefeated and plotting

From a talk by the 'Panorama' reporter to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London

I think that US soldiers and their officers underestimated al-Qa'ida when they first arrived in Afghanistan. Anaconda changed that. They knew that 250 Soviet soldiers had lost their lives to the mujahedin there. But it took a face-to-face confrontation with al-Qa'ida to drive it home. Major General Hagenbeck told me he had enormous respect for the enemy – there was no single occasion when any of them was prepared to surrender, even when death was imminent.

Military intelligence was surprised to find that al-Qa'ida had created an effective communications system using local mobiles, and that they had solar panels and Goretex equipment – some of the best in the world, apparently. Weapons, though old, were suited to the terrain and well cared for and protected. Their accuracy in using mortars impressed US soldiers I spoke to.

America and Britain say they have denied al-Qa'ida sanctuary in south-east Afghanistan. Yes, al-Qa'ida no longer controls the government of the country it hijacked five years ago, but since 11 September more than 50 people have been killed in terror attacks linked to al-Qa'ida in Pakistan and in Tunisia. Other plots have been foiled in the Far East, in Italy and in the Med. Some of those apprehended have admitted escaping from Afghanistan during the war on terror.

The biggest prize of all – Osama bin Laden – has eluded the coalition. I believe he is alive and biding his time. We have not heard the last of al-Qa'ida, and its now a question not of if but when, and how many new victims there will be.