I saw on the news last night a snippet from a Whitehouse press briefing. And from the transcript there of Scott McClellan you can see the first question and answer:

Q He (Osama bin Laden) seemed to be offering a conditional truce under fair conditions, and seemed to be tying it to a U.S. pullout from Iraq.

MR. McCLELLAN: And as I indicated, clearly, the al Qaeda leaders and the terrorists are on the run. They're under a lot of pressure. We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business. The terrorists started this war, and the President made it clear that we will end it at a time and place of our choosing. We continue to pursue all those who are seeking to do harm to the American people, and to bring them to justice.

This answer annoys me, and it made me say (to my long suffering house mate) that it just makes the USA look like liars, or the Evil Empire bin Laden makes them out to be. But I guess it could just be spin gone mad.

Because if the President and the USA can really end the war at a time and place of their choosing... why not today? Why not last week - or years ago?

The assertion is a lie, or the USA are choosing to let the war continue. Or, Mr McClellan is saying whatever sounds best, for the sake of good Public Relations.

It's wrong on all counts, I think. A lie would be bad for many reasons, and not just morally wrong. Kind of scary. I don't like the idea of an immoral superpower. The USA choosing to let a war continue is also scary. It makes me think of 'the terrorist's' assertions that America is just jackbooting across the Middle East, which is what started the war. And the Whitehouse saying whatever is good PR, regardless of the facts, means you can't trust them - which is also scary.