'Taliban will not be successful in disrupting Afghan polls'

Acknowledging that there would be serious attempts by Taliban to disrupt the Presidential runoff elections in Afghanistan, the White House today said that the militant group would not be successful in their effort.

Acknowledging that there would be serious attempts by Taliban to disrupt the Presidential runoff elections in Afghanistan, the White House today said that the militant group would not be successful in their effort.

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"I don't doubt that there will be members of the Taliban or violent extremists that seek to disrupt the will of the Afghan people," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters at his daily news briefing.

"That's not going to be successful. The Afghan people are going to decide who will run their next government, and we're confident of that," Gibbs said.

Gibbs said the troops that were authorised to go by the President to create a security environment that allowed us to have an election -- we saw the same type of cowardly violence leading up to the first election.

He said the Obama Administration is conducting a comprehensive assessment. President Barack Obama has so far held six situation room meetings at the White House running into more than 17 hours.