Rumsfeld says bin Laden may get away

The US Defence Secretary believes American forces may not be able to catch Osama bin Laden.

Donald Rumsfeld says bin Laden's riches may make it difficult to pin him down.

But Mr Rumsfeld does think the Taliban regime will be toppled.

He admits it will be very difficult to capture or kill bin Laden.

"It's a big world," he said. "There are lots of countries. He's got a lot of money, he's got a lot of people who support him."

"I just don't know whether we'll be successful," he added.

He said in any event bin Laden's network would carry on without him, and that the problem of terrorism is ongoing.

"If he were gone tomorrow, the same problem would exist," he said.

Meanwhile, top Pentagon officials say the Taliban could be planning to poison food aid intended for the Afghan people.

Pentagon Spokesman John Stufflebeem said: "They may intend to poison one or more types of food sources and blame it on the Americans."