Rumsfeld: Bin Laden May Be Unable To Command

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (file photo) (AFP)

21 December 2005 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden may no longer be able to run the militant network and has not been heard from for nearly a year.

Rumsfeld said on a trip to Pakistan today that the Bush administration still considers it a priority to capture the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, who is believed to be hiding somewhere in the mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

In a video interview earlier this month, Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said that bin Laden's battle against the West was only just beginning.

(Reuters)