U.S. troops will be sent to search Tora Bora caves

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- American troops will be sent into Afghanistan's abandoned al-Qaida cave complex to press the search for Osama bin Laden, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said Friday.

He declined to say how many.

"Whatever is needed will be sent," he told a Pentagon press conference. "And it won't be just U.S. it will be coalition forces."

Currently British special forces are working with the U.S. military.

Senior defense officials say the Afghanistan war's commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, proposed sending several hundred Marines, and possibly a smaller number of Army troops, to the Tora Bora area.

Rumsfeld noted there are numerous caves that hold possible clues about the terrorist network.

"They're being triaged and put in order," he said. "Then Afghan forces and coalition forces are going into those caves and looking for evidence and people and weapons."

He said other information gathered so far has already led to the arrest of "people across the world ... and undoubtedly have prevented terrorist activities."

A few dozen U.S. special operations troops are already in the area helping Afghan tribal forces search the caves, but the United States is concerned that the Afghans are unwilling or unable to complete the search anytime soon.