BUSH
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP):
IN A surprise visit under extraordinary security, United States President George W. Bush expressed unwavering confidence yesterday that Osama bin Laden will be captured despite years of fruitless manhunts for the elusive terrorist leader who ran training camps in Afghanistan and plotted the deadly attacks of September 11, 2001.
Bush ordered Air Force One, on a flight to India, to make a secret detour to this war-scarred country to show U.S. support for the fledgling democracy led by President Hamid Karzai, whose authority has been weakened by suicide bombings and rising violence by insurgents. There are more than 18,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and Bush said their mission was "to help this new democracy not only survive but to flourish."
CAN'T ELUDE US FOREVER
The president, who once boasted bin Laden would be taken "dead or alive," said the fugitive terrorist would not elude the United States forever. Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar were driven into hiding by the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11. They are believed to be in the rugged Pakistan-Afghan border region.
"It's not a matter of if they're captured and brought to justice," Bush said at a news conference with Karzai at the war-battered presidential palace. "It's when they're brought to justice."
Eight weeks in the planning, Bush's visit to Afghanistan was not announced in advance to reduce chances of an assassination attempt. Heavily armed combat assault teams shadowed Bush's moves. Door-gunners on at least two helicopters fired brief bursts of bullets down at the dusty flatlands not far from Bagram Air Base as they ferried the president's entourage into town.
A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, said the gunners on the choppers were test firing their weapons.
"It is standard operating procedure for the MH-47 helicopter to test-fire their mini-guns over East River Range every time they fly in mission," he said. "Neither President Bush nor any of the aircraft in the flight were ever in any danger."
