From Reuters, 11/21/03:
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20031121_184.html
U.S. General Says Bin Laden 'Out of the Picture'
By Yousuf Azimy
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) -
A senior U.S. general said on Friday that al Qaeda mastermind Osama
bin Laden had "taken himself out of the picture" and that his capture
was not essential to winning the "war on terror."
General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff,
said at U.S. military headquarters just north of Kabul that the
11,500-strong U.S.-led force hunting al Qaeda and Taliban militants
was not focusing on individuals.
"He (bin Laden) has taken himself out of the picture," Pace told
reporters after visiting U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan.
"It is not an individual that is as important as is the ongoing
campaign of the coalition against terrorists," he said.
America's new ambassador to Kabul Zalmay Khalilzad said earlier this
week that the U.S. military would "redouble" its efforts to find bin
Laden and other al Qaeda and Taliban leaders.
While appearing to contradict this, Pace, added:
"That is not to say that we would not be glad to capture Osama bin
Laden today or tomorrow."
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Sure kid.
Harry
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