President George W Bush said this evening he was certain that Osama bin Laden was behind Tuesday's attacks in the US.
Mr Bush repeated his promise he would "hunt down" those responsible for the atrocity, but warned it would take some time.
"This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while and the American people must be patient," he said at a press briefing at the White House in Washington DC.
"This will be a long campaign, a determined campaign."
"The American people should know that my administration is determined to find, to get them running, and to hunt down those who did this to America."
Earlier, vice-president Mr Dick Cheney said he had "no doubt" Osama bin Laden had helped mastermind the attacks.
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But Mr Cheney also warned he may not have acted alone and told Americans they faced a "long and difficult" fight in the country's war against terrorism.
"I have no doubt that he and his organisation played a significant role. There's a lot of evidence to link his organisation to this operation, but that doesn't mean there weren't others involved," he said on a US television programme.
Mr Cheney said there was evidence to link the attack to other terrorist actions, including the suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen two years ago, which killed 17 sailors.
He warned that America was already preparing to go against countries which "offer sanctuary" to terrorists of any kind, even those not linked to bin Laden.
"If we have got a nation out there that has provided a base, training facilities or a sanctuary, as is probably the case here with Afghanistan, they have to understand that if you offer sanctuary to terrorists, you face the full wrath of the United States of America," he said.
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Mr Dick Cheney
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Mr Cheney was taken to the Camp David presidential retreat as part of the unprecedented security surrounding Washington leaders in the aftermath of the attack. This weekend he met Mr Bush and his National Security Council there for vital talks.
Today he warned the country faces a long struggle.
"It is not like Desert Storm where we had a build-up over months and a few days of conflict.
"This is the kind of work that will probably take years, because the focus here is not on one individual, it is terrorism, which could take years."
In a strongly-worded statement aimed at Pakistan, he said there was clear choice to either stand beside America or face it as an enemy.
"We are asking nations to step up and stand by our side. They will have to make that choice," he said.
The vice-president admitted America was not ready for the terror attacks.
"The problem we have here is: do we train our pilots to shoot down commercial airliners filled with American civilians?"
Asked if the US faced the possibility of both war and recession he said "possibly".
"I think our economy is strong, and I think we have to realise we are the strongest, most powerful nation on the face of the earth."