President George W. Bush said today it did not matter to him whether Osama bin Laden was brought in dead or alive, and vowed: "We'll get him".
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Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr Bush also rejected critics in the Islamic world of a videotape of the Saudi dissident released by the United States, saying it was preposterous for anybody to think this tape was doctored.
As US forces were said to be closing in on bin Laden in eastern Afghanistan, Mr Bush said it did not matter to him whether bin Laden was brought in dead or alive.
"I don't care. Dead or alive, either way. It doesn't matter to me," Mr Bush said.
"I don't know whether we're going to get him tomorrow, or a month from now, or a year from now. I really don't know. But we're going to get him ... He may hide for a while, but we'll get him," Mr Bush said.
Mr Bush was speaking during a picture-taking session with visiting Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Yesterday, the Pentagon released a nearly hour-long videotape captured in a house in the Afghan city of Jalalabad that showed bin Laden discussing the September 11th attacks, boasting about his involvement and laughing at the destruction wrought.
Some critics in the Islamic world have claimed the poor quality videotape had been doctored. Mr Bush rejected that.
"Those who contend it's a farce or a fake are hoping for the best about an evil man. This is bin Laden unedited. This is bin Laden, the bin Laden who murdered the people. This is a man who sent innocent people to their death. Here's a man who is so devious and so cold-hearted that he laughs about the so-called suicide bombers that lost their lives," Mr Bush said.
"It is preposterous for anybody to think that this tape is doctored. That's just a feeble excuse to provide weak support for an incredibly evil man." Mr Bush also said he had wrestled with whether to make the tape public or not.