Bush Tries to Shore Up Iraq War Effort

U.S. President George Bush headed to Salt Lake City Monday to address the VFW convention, beginning a new campaign to shore up support for the war in Iraq.

Terrorists in foreign lands still hope to attack our country, the president told the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The lesson of Sept. 11, 2001, is that we must confront threats before they fully materialize.

The speech is the first in a series in which Bush will remind the country of the catastrophic terror attacks, and will suggest the war in Iraq is similar to other long conflicts, such as World War II.

The president last sought public support in a nationally broadcast speech to soldiers in North Carolina in June.

The issue has followed Bush into his five-week vacation in Crawford, Texas, where dozens of anti-war demonstrators have set up a makeshift camp near his ranch.

Hundreds of white crosses commemorating U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq are now planted just outside his property, and the demonstrators drew support Sunday from folk singer Joan Baez, CNN reported.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Aug. 5-7 found 54 percent of citizens thought the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a mistake.

So far, more than 1,800 U.S. troops have died in the conflict.