world

"It will be really interesting to see how that plays out," CIA Director Michael Hayden said Tuesday in an Associated Press interview.

"The [Al-Qaida] organization is a lot more networked than it is ruthlessly hierarchical," he said of the group behind the 9/11 attacks on the United States. "How do you pick the next overall leader?"

On what it would mean to get Bin Laden: "If there ever was a sense of invulnerability I think killing or capturing him would shatter it once and for all."

The United States is making "a big and continual push" to capture or kill Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, but his demise won't end the organization's menace, Hayden said. The CIA is equally interested in those jockeying to replace Bin Laden in what he predicted will be a "succession crisis."

A number of Egyptians are now part of Al-Qaida's top echelon and may struggle for power among themselves. Bin Laden's current No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is an Egyptian.

On the Pakistani government negotiating a peace deal that would have tribes expel extremists and police the region: "Any peace agreement that does not move the effective writ of the Pakistani government into the tribal region and push the rule of law there gives these groups the opportunity to continue to train, refit and move across the Afghan border. It's something we certainly could not look kindly on."

On CIA action in the border region: "It's hard for me to get into any details. I understand the situation there and I'm comfortable with the authorities we've been given. There's an awful lot of senior leadership killed or captured including even in the last several months."

On holding prisoners and interrogation practices: "We were kind of turning into the nation's jailer, a wholly inappropriate role for us. I'm not uncomfortable with the interrogation part or the detention required to conduct the interrogation. But once the intelligence value is bought off to a certain point, we have to move on."

On the status on the war on terror: "On balance I think we are doing pretty well on the war on terror. It's not luck. We've made it more difficult for people who would do us harm. That's not a guarantee. It doesn't mean they won't be back. It doesn't mean we'll always be successful."

On North Korea's arms trade, including helping Syria build a nuclear reactor and selling technology to Iran: It's a starved economy, with very, very few sources of foreign exchange. This is one of the ones where they can actually turn a profit."

On Iran's intention is to produce its own nuclear fuel: "That gives them the potential at any moment to break out and create a weapon and that's what of course is most troubling."

ASSOCIATED PRESS