US President George W. Bush said the capture of a top al-Qaeda operative in Pakistan shows that America's war on terrorism is succeeding, and promised to pursue the terror network until it's dismantled.
The president made his remarks in a 35-minute interview with reporters from 14 newspapers from around the country. The session was closed to other media, but some details surfaced Monday night on Web sites of some of the publications.
"I told the American people that this is a different kind of war against al-Qaeda and that we'll have to hunt them down one at a time," Bush said, according to The Baltimore Sun, one of the papers that attended. "Over the weekend they saw what I meant."
Bush described Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was captured over the weekend in Pakistan and is being held by US officials, as ``al-Qaeda's senior general when it comes to plotting attacks on America,'' according to the Sun's account.
Bush also vowed to pursue the al-Qaeda network until it "is completely dismantled," the Sun reported.
Bush told the reporters he called them in to "explain to people why I make the decisions I make."
According to the Sun, the president defended his tax cut plan and said it would stimulate the economy and help pay for the cost of a war with Iraq.
Asked about anti-war protesters, Bush said he was listening to them.
"I care what they believe, and I've listened carefully" said Bush, according to The State in Columbia, South Carolina, which had a reporter present. "We just have a difference of opinion."
Bush expressed a determination to oust Saddam Hussein from Iraq.
"This is a difficult decision for any president to make," he said, according to the Omaha World-Herald account. "But I've come to the conclusion that the man must be disarmed for the safety of the American people."
At one point he was asked by a reporter how he was preparing mentally and spiritually for a decision on whether to go to war.
"I'm reading the Bible every day," the president replied, according to the Sun. "I'm sleeping well at night. I am sustained by the prayers of the people."
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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