The deaths of Saddam Hussein's two sons marked progress in assuring the Iraqi people that the old regime was gone forever, US President George Bush said today.
He told a White House press conference: "I don't know how close we are" to finding the deposed dictator.
"Closer than we were yesterday, I guess. All I know is we're on the hunt."
He said the US and its allies would "complete our mission in Iraq, We will complete our mission in Afghanistan ... We will wage the war on terror against every enemy that plots against our people."
At his first formal news conference in more than four months, Mr Bush also defended his decision not to declassify a portion of a congressional report dealing with intelligence lapses in advance of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisel met Mr Bush at the White House yesterday to seek declassification of a part of the report dealing with his country.
But Mr Bush told reporters, "since I'm in charge of the war on terror, we won't reveal source and methods" of gathering intelligence.
"I will never assume the restraint and goodwill of dangerous enemies when lives of our citizens are at work," he added.
The president shed little light on a warning from the Department of Homeland Security that al-Qaida might try and launch new terrorist attacks using airliners. "The threat is a real threat, a threat where we obviously don't have specific data, we don't know where, when what."
The president opened his news conference with a pledge to fight the war on terrorism as well as push the economy toward recovery.
"We are beginning to see hopefuls signs of faster growth in the economy which over time will yield new jobs. Yet the unemployment rate is too high and we will not rest until Americans looking for work can find a job," Mr Bush said.
He also asked Congress to pass measures on his list of priorities - an energy bill, a child tax credit for lower-income families, and a Medicare prescription drug bill among them.
AP