``If Bin Laden Is Handed over, We Will Reconsider the Attack``

The U.S. President George W. Bush said on Thursday that if Afghanistan`s Taliban government hands over Osama bin Laden and his followers, he could reconsider the military attack against Afghanistan.

President Bush said at the press conference in White House one month after the terrorist attacks in the U.S. that the military operation against Afghanistan was carried out as it was planned, destroying terrorist bases and weakening the Taliban regime.

Reaffirming that the war against terrorism will continue until bin Laden and al-Qaeda members are taken to the court, he added that this war might take one to two years.

In relation to this, Britain`s Admiral Sir Michael Boyce said that ``this attack has just begun. We will continue the military operation until we achieve our goal. We must expect to go through the winter and into next summer at the very least.``

Meanwhile, the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned the government organizations and people in its statement that it has obtained the information that there may be more terrorist attacks within the U.S. or overseas in the `next few days`.

Britain`s Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday that in the amid imminent deployment of the U.S. ground troops, the U.S. and the U.K. are considering occupying the `heart of the Taliban` by deploying 3,000 of the special army unit in Kandahar, that is, the ground of the Taliban regime.

In a sixth day of air strikes in Afghanistan, the level of military attacks is getting higher as the U.S. launched a large-scale air strikes in Kabul area before sending out ground troops.

The Taliban claimed that 300 civilians were killed by air strikes including 200 people in Kadam where bin Laden`s terrorist training base was located.

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said on Thursday that fraction within the Taliban regime was detected, and by using this fraction the U.S. was considering to push forward with forming a new national government including the moderate group within the Taliban.

Han Soo-Rain eligius@donga.com