'Osama cannot hide from U.S.'

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 15. The President George W. Bush vowed on Saturday that U.S. troops would hunt down terrorists and ``smoke them out of their holes'' in a long, unrelenting response to Tuesday's ghastly attacks. Americans must brace themselves for great sacrifices, he said, ``because the conflict will not be easy.'' He said simply: ``We're at war.''

The President's spokesman said Mr. Bush had not ruled out using ground troops in his planned war on global terrorism.

For the first time, Mr. Bush identified Osama bin Laden as a suspect in the attacks on Washington and New York, plus the downing of a commercial plane over Pennsylvania.

``If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies he will be sorely mistaken,'' the President said.

``Those who make war against the United States have chosen their own destruction.''

Echoing the words of his father, the former President, Mr. George Bush, after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the President said, ``This act will not stand'' and vowed vengeance for the worst terrorist attack on America.

``We will find those who did it. We will smoke them out of their holes, we'll get them running, and we'll bring them to justice. We will not only deal with those who dare attack America, we will deal with those who harbour them and feed them and house them,'' he said.

``They have stirred up the might of the American people,'' Mr. Bush said as he met with his National Security team at the Marine-guarded Camp David presidential retreat in western Maryland.

Mr. Bush met with his top advisers, including the Vice-President, Mr. Dick Cheney, the Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, the National Security Adviser, Ms. Condoleezza Rice, the Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald H. Rumsfeld, and the Attorney General, Mr. John Ashcroft.

Prolonged war

Mr. Bush warned that the war would be prolonged and carry great risks.

``I will not settle for a token act. Our response must be sweeping, sustained and effective,'' the President said in his weekly radio address. ``We have much to do and much to ask of the American people.''

``You will be asked for your patience, for the conflict will not be short. You will be asked for resolve, because the conflict will not be easy. You will be asked for your strength because the course to victory may be long,'' he said.

Mr. Bush moved from consoling a heartbroken nation to readying Americans for a new kind of war, calling 50,000 military reservists to duty and shouting words of defiance amid the ruins of the World Trade Center.

Standing on rubble amid cheers ``USA! USA!'' Mr. Bush vowed that the attackers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon "will hear all of us soon.''

Visiting "ground zero'' of Tuesday's terror attacks, Mr. Bush was mobbed by weary rescuers offering him a warm welcome in front of the smoking ruins of the collapsed twin towers yesterday.

After shaking hands and slapping the backs of dozens of rescuers in hard hats, Mr. Bush climbed atop a soot-covered, gnarled remnant of the north tower and addressed the throng through a bullhorn.

"I want you all to know that America this day is on bended knee in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, the workers who work here, for the families."

``I can hear you,'' Mr. Bush said on Friday. ``The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.''

Meanwhile, a senior State Department official met with 15 Arab representatives and told them they must declare their nations part of an international coalition against terrorism, or run the risk of being isolated in the growing conflict.

A report from Islamabad, quoting The News daily, said that according to unofficial reports, a contingent of over 50 personnel from the special services group of the U.S. Marines "Green Seals" had landed for conducting "target oriented" operations against Osama bin Laden.

Suspect arrested

In the U.S., the first arrest in the investigation came on Friday. The suspect, whose identity was not made public, was arrested because authorities believe he has information about the attacks and poses a high risk of fleeing the country.

Two other men picked up in Fort Worth, Texas, were flown to New York for questioning, officials said.

A report from Berlin said German authorities today identified a third terrorism suspect who lived in Germany and seized new evidence in the investigation into links to the attacks in the U.S.

Ziad Jarrah, who flew on a plane that crashed in a field 130 km from Pittsburgh, was reported missing by his girlfriend in the western industrial city of Bochum, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Jarrah had lived for a time in Bochum, said the agency, which is heading the criminal investigation in Germany. It said he left Germany in June 2000 and attended two flying schools in Florida.

The announcement widens the scope of the German investigation, which has focused so far on Hamburg. Two men believed to have been on a plane that hit the World Trade Center had lived in the port city.

- AP, Reuters

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