President Bush has warned that the United States is under threat of further terrorist attacks within days.
"Americans tonight can know that while the threat is ongoing we are taking every possible step to protect our country from danger," Mr Bush said in a nationwide television press conference at the White House early this morning.
The President's warning followed an FBI statement last night urging the American people to "maintain the highest alert" and report anything suspicious.
In its statement, the first such public warning since the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the FBI said: "Certain information, while not specific as to target, gives the government reason to believe that there may be additional terrorist attacks within the United States and against US interests overseas over the next several days."
Mr Bush said the FBI warning "may not be the last," but urged the public not to cower in the face of threats from " evildoers".
During the press conference Mr Bush offered the Taliban leadership a second chance to hand over Osama bin Laden. In a direct message to Afghanistan's leadership, he said: "If you give him up, we will reconsider what we are doing to your country."
In response to questions from journalists Mr Bush said the United Nations should take on responsibility for "nation building" in post-Taliban Afghanistan.
"I think that would be a useful role for them," he said, insisting that it was not a role he wanted for the US and that all parties in the country should have an opportunity to join such a government.
He said the campaign against terrorism would continue "as long as it takes to bring al-Qaeda to justice. It may take a year or two, but we will prevail," he said.
Applauding the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat's attempts to control militants, Mr Bush said he would be prepared to meet him if such a meeting would progress matters and be more than a photo opportunity.
In a sign of the extraordinary changing relationships in the Middle East, Mr Bush paid tribute to Syria's willingness to co-operate with the campaign and said that "we take that seriously and will give it the opportunity to do so."
Was there an effective amnesty for states which previously hosted terrorism, he was asked. "If you want to join our coalition against terrorism you're welcome", he said.
In Afghanistan, meanwhile, the first daylight raids were launched on Kabul yesterday amid unconfirmed Taliban claims of civilian casualties throughout the country, including up to 100 people killed in an attack on a village near Jalalabad.
Casualty figures supplied by the Taliban, which included 15 deaths after a mosque was hit in Jalalabad, could not be verified independently. The daylight attack on the district around Kabul airport reportedly caught residents of the Afghan capital by surprise; many were shopping for their evening meal and fled in terror when the aircraft struck. About four hours later, the evening strikes began.
At the same time, the latest in a long series of difficulties between international aid workers and the Taliban occurred when the Taliban demanded a substantial "road tax" from the World Food Programme. Payment was refused.
Pakistan has confirmed that US military personnel have arrived in the country, but a government spokesman said no offensive was planned from Pakistan soil. Pakistan's military is on stand-by today as potentially the most violent anti-American protests to date are expected. A major rally is planned tomorrow in Quetta.
News of the presence of US forces in Pakistan is expected to fuel the rallies.
