Bin Laden appears only when he wants to be seen.

Byline: Kim Barker

KABUL, Afghanistan _ Five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden is seen only when he wants to be seen.

In a new videotape released last week, he appears huddled in the rugged mountains of southern Afghanistan with two of the aides who helped plan the attacks, then shaking hands with dozens of supporters at a training camp, possibly including several of the hijackers themselves. Made by al-Qaida's media branch and broadcast on Al-Jazeera, it was intended as an ominous reminder of the kind of terror that al-Qaida can unleash.

But here on the ground in Afghanistan, bin Laden is nowhere to be seen. The hunt for him, once a top public priority for the Bush administration, has ratcheted down into a hushed, seldom-mentioned campaign, while U.S. and NATO troops face escalating battles against the resurgent Taliban that once sheltered him.

"Nobody knows where he is, to be honest," said Col. Thomas Collins, a spokesman for the 20,000 U.S. troops patrolling southeastern Afghanistan. "He's very slick. He's been on the run now for 4 { years. And he doesn't make mistakes."

Most experts believe that bin Laden is hiding along the porous, rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He likely is on the lawless Pakistan side, protected by tribal hospitality and inhospitable terrain.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that U.S. Special Forces…