President Bush says the United States has achieved the goals of the first phase of its campaign against Taleban military positions and terrorist facilities in Afghanistan.
In his weekly radio address (Saturday) the president said the Taleban is paying the price for failing to turn over suspected terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. Mr. Bush says U-S led air strikes have severely weakened Taleban military capability and disrupted Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
Mr. Bush says it is understandable that many Americans feel uneasy at the possibility of new terrorist attacks against U-S interests. But he says the United States is taking strong precautions and increasing defenses at home.
Meanwhile, federal officials continue to issue warnings of credible threats against Americans in the United States or overseas within the next several days. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies say their assessments are based on new information as well as a re-evaluation of earlier data. However, no specific dates or targets have been mentioned in the warnings.
President Bush also repeated his request to the nation's children to contribute a dollar each to a special fund to help the children of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bush is at the Camp David presidential retreat outside of Washington, where he held a video-conference with his national security advisors.