US: President Bush urged Americans not to lose faith in the Iraq war effort, using his prime-time address on Tuesday evening to argue that the Iraq insurgents are the same breed of Islamic terrorist that struck the United States on September 11th, 2001.
"Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed," Mr Bush said to rows of silent soldiers in his televised speech. "Every picture is horrifying - and the suffering is real. Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country."
While the president recognised that "Americans want our troops to come home as quickly as possible," he made it clear there would be no change in the Iraq strategy. He ruled out both a deadline for troop withdrawal and an increase in troop levels in Iraq. Rather, he called for Americans not to lose "our heart, our nerve" or to "forget the lessons of September 11th".
"We fight today because terrorists want to attack our country and kill our citizens, and Iraq is where they are making their stand," Mr Bush said in the only passage of the 30-minute speech that drew applause from troops.
"So we will fight them there, we will fight them across the world, and we will stay in the fight until the fight is won."
Mr Bush invoked September 11th five times and referred to it by implication several more times. Although he has said previously that there is "no evidence" of a link between the attacks and Saddam Hussein's Iraq, he used much of his speech to portray the enemy in Iraq and the perpetrators of the 2001 attack as the same. The White House titled his remarks a discussion on the "War on Terror", not Iraq.
"This war reached our shores on September 11th, 2001," he said. "The terrorists who attacked us - and the terrorists we face - murder in the name of a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom."
"The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11th, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi, and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like bin Laden," Mr Bush said. He quoted bin Laden calling the Iraq conflict a "third world war".
Mr Bush's speech returned the presidency's focus to Iraq after a spring dedicated to pension reform and other domestic matters that allowed support for the war to soften. And he acknowledged no flaw in the administration's Iraq policy. Mr Bush's words were intended to signal that he understands the growing doubts in many parts of the country over the state of affairs in Iraq. In his address, the president cited "significant progress" in Iraq over the past year, and he approvingly cited German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, an opponent of the war, saying that "a stable and democratic Iraq is in the vested interest of not just Germany but also Europe".
Mr Bush assured Americans concerned about a long-term presence in Iraq that his goal is to move quickly to a point at which Iraqi security forces can defend themselves.
"Our strategy can be summed up this way: as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down," he said.
At a time when military recruiting has suffered, Mr Bush thanked troops who re-enlisted, encouraged new enlistments and asked Americans to mark Independence Day by flying the flag and helping military families.
He positioned the fight in Iraq as the latest in a line going back to the American Revolution and the Civil War. "There were many chances to lose our heart, our nerve or our way, but Americans have always held firm."