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Osama in all likelihood alive: US

The United States has said that Osama bin Laden is possibly alive and asserted that the war against terrorism is more important than capturing the prime suspect in the September 11 attacks in America.

Vice President Dick Cheney, referring to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's statement that Bin Laden was probably dead as a result of kidney disease, said he was sceptical about it.

"If he were dead, there'd be more indications of it than we've seen. There'd be more noise in the system about his demise and about the future of the organisation if, in fact, he were no longer there," Cheney told Fox News on Sunday.

He said the ongoing crackdown against international terrorist network was more important to the Bush administration than capturing Bin Laden.

"Osama bin Laden himself isn't that big a threat. Bin Laden (when) connected to this worldwide organisation of terror is a threat. We're going to go after him, but we're also after the network," he said

Asserting that the administration could prevent future attacks on the US even if Bin Laden was not apprehended, Cheney told ABC television network that the terrorist suspect was wanted only "because of what he did on 9/11".

White House chief of staff Andrew Card also said that the world's most wanted man was in all likelihood alive.

"I happen to believe that he's probably alive. We know he's on the run...and we would get this evildoer," he said.

The Bush administration was aiming "not just to get Bin Laden", but also to "defeat terrorism wherever it is around the world", he added.

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