U.S. no to negotiations

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 30. As the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush returned to the White House from Camp David, Washington once again rejected any negotiations with the Taliban over Osama bin Laden.

The White House demanded that Osama be turned over. This was in response to the Taliban statement that the Saudi fugitive was being held at an unknown place ``for his safety and security''.

A White House spokesperson, Mr. Ken Lisaius, said, ``the announcement does not change anything,'' adding that ``the President was extremely clear in his address to the American people and the Congress that the demands that he outlined were not open to negotiation nor were they open to debate''.

For the third Sunday in a row senior administration officials took to the Talk Shows explaining not only the policy as far this ``war on terrorism'' was concerned but also the latest evolving scheme of things. For instance, the Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, brushed aside the Taliban contention that it was holding Osama.

``Of course it was just a few days ago that they said they didn't know where he was, so I have no reason to believe anything a Taliban representative has said'', Mr. Rumsfeld said today.

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