WASHINGTON - The leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan,
Mullah Mohammad Omar, said in a rare interview that the
United States could not defeat his movement in its
attempt to obtain Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden.

``Even if it (the United States) were twice as strong, or
twice that, it would not be strong enough to defeat us.
We are confident that no one can harm us if God is with
us,'' he told Voice of America in an interview broadcast
on Wednesday.

The State Department had tried to persuade the
government-funded broadcaster not to give Mullah Omar
time on the air, on the grounds that U.S. taxpayers
should not help the Taliban leader propagate his views.

But the Voice of America went ahead anyway, wrapping the
interview into a background piece which also included the
voices of President Bush, a spokesman for the Afghan
Northern Alliance and Islam specialist John Esposito.

VOA spokesman Joe O'Connell said VOA had held the piece
in the hope of obtaining an interview in Rome with the
former king of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, but went
ahead when that interview did not materialize.

The broadcast, which translated Mullah Omar's Pashto into
English, included about 150 words spoken by the
fundamentalist Taliban leader, who has been protecting
bin Laden.

Bin Laden is the prime suspect in the attacks on the
World Trade Center New York and the Pentagon in
Washington on Sept. 11, which left more than 7,000 people
dead or missing and presumed dead.

The United States has demanded the Taliban and his
supporters hand him over for trial. It has deployed
warplanes and ships toward Afghanistan, threatening
military force.

VOA, paraphrasing Mullah Omar, said he refused to
surrender bin Laden and was prepared to lead the Taliban
in war.

``THE PEOPLE ARE POWERLESS''

``This is not just an issue of Osama bin Laden. This is
an issue of Islam, Islam throughout the world. Islam's
prestige is at stake, so is Afghan tradition. Whether
Afghans uphold their tradition and protect their honor is
another issue,'' he said.

He said the United States has subdued Muslim countries by
putting pressure on their governments.

``America controls the governments of the Islamic
countries. America keeps after them until they do its
bidding. But these governments are very distant from
their own people. The people ask to follow Islam, but the
governments do not listen. The people are powerless
against their governments because they are in the grip of
the United States,'' he said.

A State Department official said the Bush administration
was dismayed that Voice of America did not follow its
advice not to broadcast extracts from the interview.

``We as a board member have a right and a responsibility
and an obligation to express our views,'' the official
added.

The State Department has a seat on the Broadcasting Board
of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America.

But VOA's charter calls for accurate, objective and
comprehensive news, a broad spectrum of American thought
and institutions and a ``responsible discussion'' of U.S.
policies.

More than 100 VOA staff had protested the State
Department's attempt to obstruct the interview, saying
Mullah Omar's comments were legitimate news and should be
broadcast.

``Central to our democracy is freedom of the press. As
America's voice to the world, the Voice of America has a
duty to exemplify that basic principle,'' they said in a
statement.

In other extracts from the interview, as carried by The
Washington Post last week, Mullah Omar said: ``America
has created the evil that is attacking it. The evil will
not disappear even if I die and Osama dies and others die.

``The United States should step back and review its
policy. It should stop trying to impose its empire on the
rest of the world, especially on Islamic countries.''