President George Bush has given the CIA £1 billion to do whatever is necessary in covert operations to destroy Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, a US official said yesterday.
In a presidential order called a "finding," Bush spelled out what activities the CIA can and cannot undertake in covert operations targeting bin Laden and al-Qaeda, whom the United States blames for the September 11th attack on New York and Washington that killed nearly 5,400 people.
The order allows the CIA to do "what is necessary to bring down al-Qaeda and its leadership," the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "It's pretty broad-ranging."
"These things all contain rules and regulations - what you can do, how you can do it, who you can enlist," the official added.
"This one grants new leeway. There are fewer obstacles to taking down al-Qaeda's leadership."
The Washington Post, quoting unnamed officials, reported yesterday that the order instructed the CIA to attack bin Laden's communications, security apparatus and infrastructure and focus lethal covert action on newly identified vulnerabilities.
The United States since October 7th has been bombing Afghanistan to target al-Qaeda and the ruling Taliban for sheltering bin Laden.
Special forces troops parachuted into southern Afghanistan in a night raid to penetrate one of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar's compounds near Kandahar.
The CIA and the military have also been directed to increase co-ordination in the effort and Bush added more than $1 billion to the spy agency's budget for the fight against terrorism, the US official said. The CIA's budget is a fraction of what intelligence experts estimate is $30 billion a year funding for the whole intelligence community.
While the president's order allowed the covert operation to contribute to bin Laden's death, that does not mean the CIA would actually kill him, but the spy agency could prompt others to carry out a lethal attack, sources said.
Top US General Richard Myers said yesterday that bin Laden will be captured alive if possible.
"If it's a defensive situation, then, you know, bullets will fly. But if we can capture somebody, then we'll do that," Gen Myers, chairman of the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said when asked if the military had orders to kill or capture bin Laden.
"It depends on circumstances," he told ABC television.
Gen Myers said he did not know for sure whether bin Laden would survive the war, noting US armed forces operate under international laws of conflict and are also humane.
"We've been at this military business now for just over two weeks.
"The military is only a small piece of the overall effort. And the goal right now is to try to bring down al-Qaeda and to try to bring down the Taliban, who support them," said Gen Myers.