London attacks show need to stay on offense – Bush

By Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Bush praised the
resilience of Londoners on Saturday after deadly transit
bombings and pledged to “stay on the offense” in the war on
terrorism as he urged Americans to remain on alert.

“In this dark hour, the people of Great Britain can know
that the American people stand with them,” Bush said in his
weekly radio address.

“This week, there is great suffering in the city of London.
Yet the British people are resilient, and they have faced
brutal enemies before,” he added.

British authorities have said the attacks bear the
hallmarks of Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network, the Islamic
militant group behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York
and Washington.

The subway and bus bombings, which killed more than 50
people, took place as British Prime Minister Tony Blair hosted
the Group of Eight leaders summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

Upon returning from the summit on Friday, Bush paid a visit
to the British Embassy in Washington. Choking back tears, he
signed a book of condolence and laid a wreath in front of the
ambassador’s residence.

Bush said the London attacks were a reminder of the “evil”
of the Sept. 11 attacks and underscored that the United States
and its allies were fighting a “global war on terror.”

“We will stay on the offense, fighting the terrorists
abroad so we do not have to face them at home,” Bush said.

The U.S. president warned Americans to stay vigilant.

“While we have no specific credible information suggesting
an imminent attack in the United States, in light of the
bombings in London, we have raised the threat level from
elevated to high for our passenger rail, subway, and bus
systems,” Bush said.

“I urge all Americans to remain alert, and to report any
suspicious activity to your local authorities,” he said.

Late on Friday, U.S. security officials forced a flight
from Paris to Chicago with 291 passengers on board to return to
France while they checked the list of passengers, without
giving a reason.

Bush was scheduled to visit the FBI training academy at
Quantico, Virginia, on Monday to deliver a speech discussing
the London attacks, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

“I expect he will talk about the strategy for winning the
war on terrorism,” McClellan said. “He’ll talk about (how) in
the short term, it’s taking the fight to the enemy abroad and
in the long term it’s spreading freedom and democracy to defeat
the extremist ideology of hatred and oppression.”