WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said Sunday he had "no idea" when al-Qaida terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden would be caught.
Speaking in an hour long interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," the president was asked to comment on Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa's prediction that bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, would be captured before the November presidential election.
"I have no idea whether we will capture or bring him to justice," the president told anchor Tim Russert. "... I know we are on the hunt."
Bush was also optimistic about the current state of the war against bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist organization.
"We are doing a pretty good job of dismantling al-Qaida," he said.
The president left open the possibility that his administration already may have located bin Laden or his general whereabouts and certainly did not deny it.
When Russert asked, "Do you have any good idea where Osama is?", Bush replied "I'm not going to comment on that one."
