WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2006 -- While defense secretary nominee Robert M. Gates considers it important to continue searching for Osama bin Laden, he told senators today the al Qaeda leader “has become more of a symbol for jihadist terrorists than an active planner and organizer of terrorist attacks.” Gates, responding to questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, said he has “no doubt that our forces have been trying their best to find Osama bin Laden,” but that he isn’t familiar with specific details of the effort. Gates assured committee members he “would make it...