According to the Associated Press, Syed Tayyab Agha, a Taliban spokesman, said that the U. S. "should forget the 11 September attacks,'' because "The attacks have taken place in America and the people who performed and did the attacks, they were in America, so this is not something connecting with Afghanistan.'' That drew a sharp response from U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. "I can assure them we will not forget about Sept. 11,'' Wolfowitz said in Washington. "We are moving on, and I think before long the world will forget about the Taliban.''