U.S. and British commandos are leading the hunt for Osama bin Laden and leaders of his al-Qaeda terrorist network amid reports the fugitives escaped into Pakistan and are being protected by authorities there. Pakistan denied the reports.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz issued a warning against helping bin Laden.
"Any country in the world that would knowingly harbor bin Laden would be out of their minds," Wolfowitz said. "I think they've seen what happened to the Taliban, and I think that's probably a pretty good lesson for people."
The U.S. military helped oust the Taliban after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington on Sept. 11. Bin Laden is suspected of masterminding the attacks from Afghanistan.
Pentagon officials say the trail has grown cold for both bin Laden and Taliban leader Mohammed Omar, whose regime gave al-Qaeda safe haven in Afghanistan. Wolfowitz said Omar may have fled the country. However, several Afghan tribal leaders say he is holed up north of Kandahar with hundreds of Taliban loyalists. It was not clear whether Afghan forces wanted to try to track him down.
One defense official claimed a bin Laden escape could benefit the war on terrorism because popular support for continued military action in other regions would remain strong. Another noted that NATO forces still have not apprehended the most notorious war criminals of the war in Bosnia, six years after that conflict ended.
U.S. officials hope to gain information from 15 upper-echelon Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters who were captured and now imprisoned in Kandahar. FBI agents are helping conduct interrogations.
The search is not restricted to Afghanistan. Wolfowitz said the United States has begun focusing on nations where bin Laden's followers may run or where al-Qaeda bases exist.
Illustrating the point, Yemeni troops trained by U.S. commandos stormed a hideout of Islamic militants in that nation on the Arabian Peninsula to try to capture suspected al-Qaeda members. Officials said 12 people on both sides died in the battle.
In Afghanistan, a dozen countries were preparing to bring in peacekeeping troops. U.S. forces are not expected to participate, but Britain said it could have an initial force of 200 in the capital, Kabul, by Saturday. The force could number 5,000, but some Afghans want less.
Hamid Karzai, chosen to lead the country, vowed to end terrorism, "warlordism" and the rule of the gun. "I am very, very determined. Terrorism has made our people suffer unbelievably difficult times," he said.