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Catching Bin Laden not priority: US General Pace
Bagram Air Base (Afghanistan), Nov 22: Catching terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden is not a priority in the war on terror, top Us General Peter Pace said on a visit to troops hunting Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan.
Bagram Air Base (Afghanistan), Nov 22: Catching
terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden is not a priority in the war
on terror, top Us General Peter Pace said on a visit to
troops hunting Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan.
"We would be glad to capture Osama, that's certainly
something that we would like to do, but that is not essential
to the proper prosecution of the war against terrorists," the
vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of staff told reporters.
"He is an individual that we would like to bring to justice but what we need to do, without focusing on individuals, is focus on the campaign," he said in the US-led coalition's Bagram Air Base headquarters North of Kabul.
Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network has also been blamed for devastating bombings in the Turkish city of Istanbul which left 27 dead and hundreds injured. General Pace said the United States would continue to wage the war against "terrorism" in Afghanistan until the country is safe.
"From the standpoint of the military operation we will continue to pursue them to make sure that they don't reestablish," Pace said referring to the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies.
Pace also praised Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for fighting suspected militants on the border.
"President Musharraf has been very aggressive inside Pakistan with his own forces attacking terrorists there," he said. "And President Karzai with the Afghan national army would help the coalition to be aggressive against terrorism here and there is cooperation between the governments on both sides of the border." Bureau Report
"He is an individual that we would like to bring to justice but what we need to do, without focusing on individuals, is focus on the campaign," he said in the US-led coalition's Bagram Air Base headquarters North of Kabul.
Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network has also been blamed for devastating bombings in the Turkish city of Istanbul which left 27 dead and hundreds injured. General Pace said the United States would continue to wage the war against "terrorism" in Afghanistan until the country is safe.
"From the standpoint of the military operation we will continue to pursue them to make sure that they don't reestablish," Pace said referring to the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies.
Pace also praised Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for fighting suspected militants on the border.
"President Musharraf has been very aggressive inside Pakistan with his own forces attacking terrorists there," he said. "And President Karzai with the Afghan national army would help the coalition to be aggressive against terrorism here and there is cooperation between the governments on both sides of the border." Bureau Report