US National security adviser¹ James Jones says Al-Qaida leader Osama bin² Laden³ still spends some time inside Afghanistan.

美国国家安全事务顾问詹姆斯•琼斯近日称，基地组织领导人奥萨玛·本·拉登现在仍不时活动在阿富汗境内。

An image of Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. US National security adviser James Jones says Osama bin Laden still spends some time inside Afghanistan.

Most recent US estimates have placed bin Laden inside Pakistan. But Jones, a retired⁴ general, told CNN the Al-Qaida leader is "sometimes on the Pakistani side of the border, sometimes on the Afghan side of the border."

Jones says the US military and its allies in Afghanistan are "going to have to get after攻击，追击 that" to ensure bin Laden is "once again on the run奔波 or captured or killed."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made similar comments on another Sunday morning talk show.

Earlier, Defense⁵ Secretary Robert Gates said in one of three talk-show appearances that the US hasn't had any good intelligence for years on bin Laden's whereabouts下落，行踪.

Gates said he couldn't confirm recent reports that bin Laden had been seen recently in Afghanistan.

The defense chief also said Americans should expect a significant US military presence in Afghanistan for another two to four years.

Gates says the initial US troop withdrawal⁶ from Afghanistan in July 2011 might involve only a small number of troops.

Gates says that just as in Iraq, the US will turn over移交 provinces to homegrown security forces, allowing the United States to bring the number of troops down steadily稳定地.

He noted⁸ that Afghan President Hamid Karzai talked in his inaugural⁹就职的 address致辞，演讲 about taking over security control in all of Afghanistan in five years.

Gates rejected any suggestion that setting a transition过渡，转变 date for withdrawing US forces in Afghanistan will embolden使大胆 the Taliban.

He said the Taliban read the newspapers and are able to determine public opinion in the United States and Europe.

He doesn't believe the Taliban will become more aggressive and he would welcome it if they lay low until July 2011 - President Barack Obama's target date for the beginning of a withdrawal.

Gates said that would give coalition¹¹ troops联合部队 opportunities to make great progress in stabilizing¹² Afghanistan.