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Monday, June 20, 2005 Posted: 1728 GMT (0128 HKT)

(CNN) -- CIA Director Porter Goss says he has an "excellent idea" where Osama bin Laden is hiding, but that the al Qaeda chief will not be caught until weak links in the war on terrorism are strengthened.

In an interview with TIME magazine published Sunday, Goss said part of the difficulty in capturing bin Laden was "sanctuaries in sovereign nations."

The magazine asked Goss when bin Laden would be captured.

"That is a question that goes far deeper than you know," he said. "In the chain that you need to successfully wrap up the war on terror, we have some weak links. And I find that until we strengthen all the links, we're probably not going to be able to bring Mr. bin Laden to justice.

"We are making very good progress on it. But when you go to the very difficult question of dealing with sanctuaries in sovereign states, you're dealing with a problem of our sense of international obligation, fair play.

"We have to find a way to work in a conventional world in unconventional ways that are acceptable to the international community.

Asked whether that meant he knew where bin Laden is, Goss responded: "I have an excellent idea where he is. What's the next question?"



Pardon my skepticism, but if we REALLY KNEW where he was, he would already be dead. I don't think that sovereignty would slow us down one bit with Bush in command. I think that we don't have the foggiest idea of where Bin Laden is. Hell, we can't even find Zarqaqwi and we KNOW that he is in Iraq.

David F Mayer