Bush invokes Sept 11 to defend Iraq war

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) – President George W. Bush said
on Saturday U.S. troops in Iraq were fighting to protect
Americans at home from more attacks like those of September 11,
2001, starting a five-day focus on his case for the war amid
growing public discontent.

“Our troops know that they’re fighting in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and elsewhere to protect their fellow Americans
from a savage enemy,” Bush said in his weekly radio address.

“They know that if we do not confront these evil men
abroad, we will have to face them one day in our own cities and
streets, and they know that the safety and security of every
American is at stake in this war, and they know we will
prevail,” he said.

His comments came as the public shows more discontent with
his handling of Iraq, with high-profile protests during Bush’s
ranch vacation and new poll results showing nearly six in 10
Americans are worrying about the outcome of the war.

Asked whether the United States was meeting its objectives
in Iraq, 56 percent of those polled said it was not and 39
percent said it was. The poll is to be published in next
month’s issue of Foreign Affairs, the journal of the Council on
Foreign relations.

Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq,
became a symbol for anti-war protesters after camping near
Bush’s Crawford, Texas, ranch, where he is on vacation, urging
him to bring U.S. troops home.

More than 1,800 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq and
thousands more wounded.

The Bush administration justified going to war in Iraq in
2003 by saying it posed a threat because of stockpiles of
weapons of mass destruction. None have been found.

Critics say Iraq had nothing to do with the September 11,
2001, attacks on New York and Washington and that the
administration has tried to tie Iraq to terrorism since the war
to justify its actions.

“In a few weeks, our country will mark the four-year
anniversary of the attacks of September the 11th, 2001. On that
day, we learned that vast oceans and friendly neighbors no
longer protect us from those who wish to harm our people,” Bush
said. “And since that day, we have taken the fight to the
enemy,” he said.

“We’re fighting the terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, and
around the world, striking them in foreign lands before they
can attack us here at home,” Bush said.

Next week Bush will meet with members of the Idaho National
Guard, and also see members of the Mountain Home Air Force Base
who played a leading role in the air bombing campaign in
Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, Bush said. He will
also address the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Utah.

Bush likened the current situation to World War Two when
U.S. forces “helped former enemies rebuild and form free and
peaceful societies that would become strong allies of America.”

He acknowledged the deaths in the current war and said: “We
owe these fallen heroes our gratitude, and we offer their
families our heartfelt condolences and prayers.”

“Now we must finish the task that our troops have given
their lives for and honor their sacrifice by completing their
mission,” he said.