OSAMA BIN LADEN VIDEO RELEASED TO MEDIA

The release of the recent videotape of Osama bin Laden makes clear "why terrorists and terrorism must be defeated," according to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The "very matter-of-fact way" in which bin Laden refers to the attacks of September 11th makes it clear, Rumsfeld said at a December 13 Pentagon briefing, that terrorists must be defeated "before they get their hands on weapons of mass destruction." By way of explaining why it took several days to release it, he recounted the steps taken to ensure that the tape was authentic and had not been tampered with, and that the translation was accurate.

ABM TREATY NO LONGER REFLECTS TODAY'S STRATEGIC REALITIES

Commenting on President Bush's decision December 13 to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in six months, Rumsfeld said "[i}t did not and does not protect the American people from attack." The treaty, he said, calls for "mutual assured destruction at a time when what's called for is mutual cooperation."

He added that he will meet with Russia's defense minister in Brussels next week to continue bilateral discussions "to find a framework that can replace the treaty...."

ENEMY'S SURRENDER, NOT "EXTERMINATION," IS FIRST CHOICE FOR U.S.

Asked about a perception that the United States would prefer to kill al-Qaida fighters rather than have them surrender, Rumsfeld was unequivocal.

"No. ... The first choice clearly is surrender. It ends faster. It's less expensive. And we can encourage people to surrender," he said.

U.S. and coalition air strikes continued December 12 in support of opposition efforts in the Tora Bora area of Afghanistan, according to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers, who gave the operational portion of the briefing.

"There has been no surrender by the al-Qaida offered or accepted," Myers said. "Nor has there been any cease-fire in this effort," he added.

Fighting in Tora Bora has been "pretty much ... continuous," Myers said. "The al-Qaida fighters are fighting for their lives."

"If they surrender, they may come out alive," Rumsfeld added. "If they don't surrender, they may not. And it's kind of their choice. I, personally, would like to see people surrender. I, personally, would like to see us get our hands on them and be able to interrogate them and find out about al-Qaida networks all across the globe," he said.

As part of the effort to capture people alive, Rumsfeld mentioned that the United States would now offer monetary rewards for senior Taliban leaders, including as much as $10 million for Mullah Omar.

B-1 CREW'S RESCUE A TRIBUTE TO U.S. PROFESSIONALISM, SKILL

Calling the loss of the B-1 Lancer bomber on December 12 unfortunate, Rumsfeld nevertheless praised "the exceptional skill and talent" of those involved in the rescue effort.

An Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber crashed at about 11:30 a.m. EST (1630 GMT) December 12 into the Indian Ocean 30 miles north of the British base of Diego Garcia, according to the Pentagon.

"[I]f we had to lose an aircraft, it certainly is fortunate that no one was injured seriously and everyone was recovered safely, and that the [rescue] operations and the equipment and the ships and the aircraft operated as planned," Rumsfeld said.

RUMSFELD DISAPPOINTED WITH STATUS OF BASE-CLOSING LEGISLATION

Current legislation proposes to give the Bush administration authority to close U.S. military bases in fiscal year 2005, while the administration seeks it for fiscal year 2003, Rumsfeld said.

"[T]he United States will continue to have something like 20 percent to 25 percent more bases than we need," said Rumsfeld. "We will be spending ... taxpayers' hard-earned money that is being wasted to manage and maintain bases that we don't need."