Al-Qaeda threat 'still real'

The fight against terror is still Bush's top priority

The threat from the al-Qaeda network is still real and the US and its allies will continue hunting terrorists, US President George W Bush has told a rare news conference.

The president also said the process of freedom which had now begun in Iraq would reduce the threat of future terrorist attacks around the world.

His statement follows a warning to US airlines that the al-Qaeda terror network might be preparing to carry out hijackings or suicide bombings during the summer.

Mr Bush was addressing a news conference at the White House before leaving for a month-long holiday at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Reporters questioned him about how Washington was fighting terrorism.

He said the US was in constant touch with international airlines and agencies to try to avert any future terrorist threat, and claimed that much progress had been made.

"We have got some data that indicates that they would like to use flights, international flights for example," he said.

"I'm confident we will thwart the attempts."

Saddam hunt

On Iraq, Mr Bush was asked how close US forces were to finding Saddam Hussein, the deposed leader of Iraq.

I take personal responsibility for everything I say George W Bush How Bush shuns the media

"I don't know how close we are," he said. "Closer than we were yesterday, I guess. All I know is we're on the hunt."

He said the capture of Saddam Hussein's sons had showed the Iraqi people the Baath regime had gone for good.

Mr Bush insisted that a stable and peaceful Iraq was critical to stability in the entire Middle East region.

He was challenged on his January claim that Baghdad had attempted to buy uranium - which the White House has since admitted was inaccurate.

"I take personal responsibility for everything I say," Mr Bush said.

At the same time, he stood up for his National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, who has been in the firing line over the uranium claim.

"Condoleezza Rice is an honest, fabulous person and America is lucky to have her service - period," he said.

Mr Bush also pledged the US and its allies would complete their mission in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Other comments covered a wide range of international issues. Mr Bush said:

• The departure of President Charles Taylor and a ceasefire remain conditions of US intervention in Liberia, but the US would support the peacekeeping force planned by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

• The goal of a Palestinian state by 2005 - the target date under a US-backed peace plan - is still "realistic" and that progress on this is being made

• He had spoken to Chinese President Hu Jintao as part of his efforts to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis and draw regional neighbours into efforts to stop them

• All options "remain on the table" on confronting Iran's alleged attempts to build nuclear weapons, but Mr Bush said he hoped tensions could be resolved peacefully

• He saw "hopeful signs" that the US economy was picking up speed, adding that his tax cuts were not to blame for record budget deficits.

The US president has been criticised for not holding press briefings as regularly as his predecessors.

According to a tally collated by the Washington Post, Mr Bush has held just eight solo news conferences since the start of his presidency.

His predecessor, Bill Clinton, had held 33 such events by this stage in his first term, while Mr Bush's father George Bush had held 61, the paper reported on Tuesday.