The US President, Mr George W Bush, has offered Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership a second chance to hand over Osama bin Laden.
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Speaking in his first ever prime-time live TV news conference from the White House, he admitted that he didn't know if bin Laden was alive or dead.
In a direct message to the Taliban, he said: "If you give him up, we will reconsider what we are doing to your country."
The president called on Americans to prepare for a long war, saying it could take up to two years to complete. He declared the military campaign was progressing satisfactorily.
In addition he launched a campaign to get American children to help children in Afghanistan by sending donations of a dollar to the White House.
Mr Bush also used the press conference to reach out to an international audience, and especially the Muslim world, repeating his message that he was waging war on terror, not Islam.
He said that an FBI warning issued earlier in the day was the result of a "general threat" the government received.
He said he hoped it would be the last, but "given the attitude of the evildoers it may not be".
However, the leader of the Taliban said in remarks published today that Osama bin Laden could not be handed over to the United States because it was against Afghanistan's principles and religion.
Afghan principles and religion prevent surrendering bin Laden, the London-based Asharq al-Awsatnewspaper quoted Mullah Mohammad Omar as saying in extracts from the full text of an interview to be published tomorrow.
"The man fought jihad (holy war) against the Soviets with us and spent his money on that and so did our other Muslim guests, so all of them have the right to our hospitality as long as they are complying with our rules," he said.
AP