Bush: Iraq, terrorism policies keeping U.S. safe

By Tabassum Zakaria

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – President George W. Bush,
seeking to fend off growing election-year discontent with the
Iraq war, said on Thursday his wars in Iraq and against
terrorism were keeping Americans safe.

Bush, whose Republican party is fighting to keep control of
Congress in November elections, took on his political critics
in launching a new campaign to promote his security policies
before the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

“If America were to pull out before Iraq could defend
itself, the consequences would be absolutely predictable and
absolutely disastrous. We would be handing Iraq over to our
worst enemies,” Bush told veterans at the annual American
Legion convention.

“They would have a new sanctuary to recruit and train
terrorists at the heart of the Middle East, with huge oil
riches to fund their ambitions,” Bush said.

He said terrorist groups such as al Qaeda and Hizbollah
were part of one movement that wanted to prevent democracy from
taking hold in the Middle East.

“Some politicians look at our efforts in Iraq and see a
diversion from the war on terror,” Bush said, but added that
this was wrong. “We should all agree that the battle for Iraq
is now central to the ideological struggle of the 21st
century.”

Democrats who are hoping to capture at least one house of
Congress in November say Bush’s conduct of the wars against
Iraq and terrorism has failed. They have accused Republicans of
using scare tactics on national security to try and win
elections.

“The American people know that five years after September
11, we are not as safe as we should and could be,” Senate
Democrat Leader Harry Reid said. “Iraq is in crisis, our
military is stretched thin, and terrorist groups and extremist
regimes have been strengthened and emboldened across the Middle
East and the world.”

Critics have urged Bush to bring home the 140,000 American
troops from Iraq, where more than 2,600 U.S. troops have died.
No matter how well-intentioned, Bush said, “they could not be
more wrong.”

Bush has insisted troop levels would be determined by
commanders on the ground and that the United States would not
leave Iraq until it is able to manage its own security.

Sectarian violence has shown no signs of letting up in Iraq
where roadside and suicide bombs continue to wreak havoc.

‘SINGLE MOVEMENT’

Bush said the United States must battle international
terrorism networks by trying to spread democracy in the Middle
East.

“Despite their differences, these groups form the outlines
of a single movement — a worldwide network of radicals that
use terror to kill those who stand in the way of their
totalitarian ideology,” he said.

Bush portrayed Iran as a supporter of terrorism and warned
Tehran that defying Thursday’s U.N. deadline to halt sensitive
nuclear work must entail consequences.

He said the September 11 attacks, in which 19 hijackers
killed nearly 3,000 people, showed that calm in the Middle East
was “only a mirage” and that a lack of freedom had made the
region an “incubator” for terrorism.

“American policy in the Middle East comes down to a
straightforward choice: we can allow the Middle East to
continue on its course — on the course it was headed before
September the 11th — and a generation from now, our children
will face a region dominated by terrorist states and radical
dictators armed with nuclear weapons,” Bush said.

“Or we can stop that from happening by rallying the world
to confront the ideology of hate and give the people of the
Middle East a future of hope. And that is the choice America
has made,” he said.

Bush has been traveling to raise money for Republican
candidates and spoke at a fund-raiser for Sen. Orrin Hatch of
Utah on Thursday that was expected to raise about $500,000.

(Additional Reporting by Caren Bohan)