Refusing to give details of the US operation in Pakistan, a senior Bush administration official said both the presidential candidates are being briefed on the goings on in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The two major party candidates are being briefed on the goings on in Pakistan and Afghanistan and one of the top priorities of Washington will always be that of nabbing Osama bin Laden, Press Secretary Dana Perino [Images] said at her briefing.

"I do think that the Pakistanis, and I know that the prime minister recognizes the problem that they have with terrorism. And it is something we are going to continue to have to work with them on. And the next president is going to have to work with them on it, too," she said.

"We try every day to capture Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. And there's hundreds of thousands of people across out government and around the world who are working to make that happen. And when it comes to briefings on Afghanistan or Pakistan, or any other issue, the briefings will be thorough and they'll know all the issues: the good, the bad and the ugly," the official said.

"There is a lot of tension in Pakistan right now. They have a lot of issues on their plate, from terrorists to their economy to the concerns about their future security and their political situation, as they have a new administration that's

trying to get settled. So they have plenty on their plate to deal with, and we will be there as partners to try to help them," the official said.

This has been decades in the making, with entrenched hostilities, with dangerous people, with dangerous weapons that have to be either reconciled or dealt with in another way. And so that's what General Petraeus was there to talk  to them about, Perino added.