Washington: The White House has rejected the notion that the hunt for Osama bin Laden has slackened, stressing the Central Intelligence Agency was very much on the trail of the al-Qaeda leader.
"But the notion that the president (George W Bush) has shut down a programme designed to capture Osama bin Laden is utterly without foundation. It was a reorganisation, not a reduction in effort and commitment," White House Spokesman Tony Snow said in response to criticism from Democrats, including minority leader Harry Reid on the issue.
The Democrats have claimed that there had been a let up in efforts to catch the terror mastermind.
"Five years after 9/11, al-Qaida has morphed into a global franchise operation. Terror attacks have increased sharply across the world, and the president has shut down the programme designed to catch Osama bin Laden," Reid had said recently.
"What has happened is that the CIA, in response to exactly what Senator Reid was talking about, a more diffuse al-Qaida, has in fact reshaped its unit dealing with Al Qaida to reflect that diffuse threat," Snow said.
"The CIA's efforts to locate bin Laden and other senior al-Qaida figures has not been downgraded. To the contrary, it remains fully committed to locating bin Laden and his collaborators and is devoting more resources, not less, toward the effort," he added.
Snow said the effort to capture bin Laden was continuing unabated and "the CIA's most experienced personnel working this issue remain fully engaged in the fight."
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