President addresses the nation

  The Associated Press President Bush
answers questions from reporters as he holds a news conference in
the East Room of the White House Thursday.

By Ron Fournier
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON “”mdash; President Bush said Thursday night “it
may take a year or two” to track down Osama bin Laden and his
terrorist network in Afghanistan, but asserted that after a
five-day aerial bombardment, “we’ve got them on the
run.”

At a prime-time news conference at the White House, Bush said he
did not know whether bin Laden was dead or alive.

“I want him brought to justice,” he said of the
shadowy figure believed behind the terrorist attacks in New York
and Washington that killed 5,000 people one month ago.

The president said an FBI warning issued earlier in the day was
the result of a “general threat” of possible future
terrorist acts the government had received.

“I hope it’s the last, but given the attitude of the
evildoers it may not be,” he said.

At the same time, he sought to reassure Americans the government
was doing all it could to make them safe.

“If we receive specific intelligence that targets a
specific building or city or facility I can assure you our
government will do everything possible to protect the
citizens,” he said.

He urged all Americans to report anything suspicious to law
enforcement authorities.

Despite the aerial pounding, Bush held out a carrot to the
Taliban rulers of Afghanistan harboring bin Laden.

“You still have a second chance. Just bring him in and
bring his leaders and lieutenants and other thugs and criminals
with him,” he said.

And yet the president looked ahead to a day when the Taliban
would be pushed from power. He suggested the United Nations could
help form a new government for Afghanistan after the U.S.-led
military mission is completed.

Asked whether he envisioned expanding military action beyond
Afghanistan to Iraq or Syria, Bush said the United States would
“bring to justice” nations that harbor terrorists. In
particular, he called Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein an “evil
man” and added, “we’re watching him very
carefully.”

While the current focus is on Afghanistan, he said
“we’re looking for al-Qaeda cells around the
world” “”mdash; and if the United States find any, it will
pursue them.

Bush spoke at the first prime-time news conference of his
presidency, but more importantly, one month to the day after
terrorist attacks in New York and Washington murdered thousands,
damaged the nation’s economy and shattered its
complacency.

In the month since, the president has labored to construct a
foundation for an international war on terrorism, moving to choke
off the funding essential for terrorists to carry out their
strikes, lining up support from other nations, creating a new
Office of Homeland Security and ““ beginning on Sunday ““
unleashing the nation’s military.

The news conference capped a national day of remembrance. There
were memorial services around the nation to remember the more than
5,000 people killed when suicide hijackers seized four commercial
airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York,
the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania countryside.

At the news conference, Bush also said that Syria, a nation
often linked with terrorist groups, had expressed a desire to help
with the anti-terror coalition.

“We’ll give them an opportunity to do so,” he
said.

He did not give specifics on the type of assistance Syria
offered, but said he takes it seriously.

“If you want to join the coalition against terror, we will
welcome you,” Bush said.

Asked whether he was calling for sacrifice from Americans as
part of the war against terrorism, Bush said, “I think
there’s a certain sacrifice when you lose a piece of your
soul.”

He said he had seen tears in the eyes of some of the people
attending a ceremony of remembrance earlier in the day at the
Pentagon.

Bush said that despite Russia’s cooperation in the war on
terrorism, he had not changed his mind about abandoning the Cold
War-era Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and proceeding with a U.S.
missile defense system. He said the 1972 ABM treaty “is
outdated, antiquated and useless,” and said it makes sense to
permit development of an alternative system that could thwart
terrorist attempts to launch missile strikes.

“I am more than anxious to continue making my case”
to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said.