A US State Department spokesman in response to a question about sharing evidence with the Taliban stated, "My response, first of all, is that strikes me as a request for delay and prevarication rather than any serious request. And second of all, they're already overdue. They are already required by the United Nations resolutions that relate to the bombings in East Africa to turn over al-Qaeda, to turn over their leadership, and to shut down the network of operations in their country. There should be no further delay. There is no cause to ask for anything else. They are already under this international obligation, and they have to meet it." The British Prime Minister Tony Blair called on the Taliban to "surrender the terrorists or surrender power".