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Bush warns war on terror will require more sacrifice

Posted on: Thursday, 6 October 2005, 09:58 CDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Struggling to rebuild American support for the Iraq war, President George W. Bush said on Thursday the struggle would require more sacrifice and accused Islamic militants of trying control Iraq as a step toward a radical Islamic empire.

"The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that expands from Spain to Indonesia," Bush said in a speech.

Bush, speaking to the National Endowment for Democracy, claimed progress in Iraq, which he portrayed as a central front in the U.S. war on terrorism, and vowed the United States would stay on.

"Wars are not won without sacrifice, and this war will require more sacrifice, more time, and more resolve. The terrorists are as brutal an enemy as we have ever faced," he said.

He also gave an implicit warning to Syria and Iran, accusing them of supporting radical groups.

"State sponsors like Syria and Iran have a long history of collaboration with terrorists and they deserve no patience from the victims of terror. The United States makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who support and harbor them because they're equally as guilty of murder," he said.

Bush is seeking to boost waning American support for the war at a critical time as the country prepares for an October 15 constitutional referendum. He also is trying to regain American confidence in his own leadership after a difficult September, when he faced heavy criticism over the government's handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

A CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll last month said only 32 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling of the war, which he launched in 2003 citing the threat of weapons of mass destruction possessed by Saddam Hussein's government. Such weapons were never found.

Source: REUTERS

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