US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said an assault against Taliban rebels in southern Afghanistan would not destroy the city of Kandahar. Speaking with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during his visit to Washington, she said the operation would not be a "huge, massive assault". Mrs Clinton said counter-insurgency lessons had been learned from Iraq. Observers say ousting the Taliban from their Kandahar stronghold is seen as key to the expanded US-led military effort against the Taliban in Afghanistan.