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Bush pledges 'terror war' victory Bush pledges 'terror war' victory
(about 1 hour later)
President George W Bush has said that victory in Iraq is essential to winning the "war on terror". President George W Bush has said victory in Iraq is essential to the US winning the "war on terror" against the Islamist groups ranged against it.
The US would not leave Iraq until victory was achieved, he told military veterans in Salt Lake City, Utah.The US would not leave Iraq until victory was achieved, he told military veterans in Salt Lake City, Utah.
And he warned Iran of "consequences" if it continued to defy the international community over its nuclear programme.And he warned Iran of "consequences" if it continued to defy the international community over its nuclear programme.
The speech is one of a series in which Mr Bush is to defend his security strategy as the mid-term elections in the US approach. The speech is one of a series in which Mr Bush is defending his security strategy as mid-term polls approach.
Mr Bush said the US and its allies were engaged in a "decisive ideological struggle" with Islamist groups both Sunni and Shia, including al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. "The war we fight today is more than a military conflict," Mr Bush said. "It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st Century."
All of them, he said, held "the rigid conviction that free societies are a threat to their twisted view of Islam". 'Twisted view of Islam'
Mr Bush said Iraq was the "central front" in this global fight against terrorism, and that the US "will not leave until victory is achieved". He said those who brought down the World Trade Center in New York five years ago were united with car bombers in Baghdad, Hezbollah militants who shot rockets into Israel, and terrorists who had recently attempted to bring down flights between Britain and the US.
He said previous US policy in the Middle East had failed, and warned that if the US did not confront terrorists in places like Iraq, then they would face them within the US. "Despite their differences, these groups form the outline 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.
'Choice' This war will be difficult, this war will be long - and this war will end in the defeat of the terrorists President Bush
"And the unifying feature of this movement, the link that spans sectarian divisions and local grievances, is the rigid conviction that free societies are a threat to their twisted view of Islam."
Mr Bush said agreeing to calls from within the US to bring the troops home would create a disaster in the Middle East.
"Many of these folks are sincere and they're patriotic but they... could not be more wrong," he said.
"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 - Saddam's former henchmen, armed groups with ties to Iran, and al-Qaeda terrorists from all over the world who would suddenly have a base of operations far more valuable than Afghanistan under the Taleban."
He added: "This war will be difficult, this war will be long - and this war will end in the defeat of the terrorists."
Warning to Iran
The president also condemned the government of Iran, which he said was supporting terrorist groups like Hezbollah and defying the international community with its nuclear activities.The president also condemned the government of Iran, which he said was supporting terrorist groups like Hezbollah and defying the international community with its nuclear activities.
"It is time for Iran to make a choice. We've made our choice - we will continue to work closely with our allies to make a diplomatic solution, but there must be consequences for Iran's defiance and we must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon." "It is time for Iran to make a choice. We've made our choice - we will continue to work closely with our allies to make a diplomatic solution, but there must be consequences for Iran's defiance and we must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon," he said.
Mr Bush is to make several more speeches on Iraq and security in the next two weeks.Mr Bush is to make several more speeches on Iraq and security in the next two weeks.
Correspondents say his Republican party fears unease over the Iraq war could damage their standing in coming polls. Correspondents say his Republican Party fears unease over the Iraq war could damage its standing in mid-term polls on 7 November.
The BBC's James Westhead says the White House is thought to be trying to shift attention from the unpopular war in Iraq to the global terror threat.
He says the threat remains a politically potent issue, and one over which the president has the backing of much of the US public.
Mr Bush's series of speeches coincides with the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks and culminates in an address to the United Nations on 19 September.
The US is to hold mid-term polls on 7 November.