Five years on, US is still not safe: Bush

Less than a week before the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Bush outlines a new anti-terror strategy; says America will not withdraw from Iraq until the "threat to civilization has been removed"

WASHINGTON: In one of the most powerful speeches of his tenure, US President George W Bush on Tuesday outlined America's new five-pronged strategy for the global war on terror, while reminding Americans that, five years after the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center, their country is still not "immune from attacks" and that "we are not yet safe".

"Five years after our nation was attacked, the terrorist danger remains," he told a gathering of the Military Officers Association of America here in Washington, DC. "We're a nation at war, and America and her allies are fighting this war with relentless determination across the world."

Bush's speech was peppered with quotes from al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and even a letter bin Laden had written to Taliban leader Mullah Omar in 2003. The president said that his speech was meant in part to explain, in the terrorists' own words, what they believe, what they hope to accomplish and how they intend to accomplish it. He even said that bin Laden's ultimate aim was to create a "caliphate", where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology.

He said: "These al Qaeda terrorists… are driven by a radical and perverted vision of Islam that rejects tolerance, crushes all dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent men, women and children in the pursuit of political power. They hope to establish a violent political utopia across the Middle East, which they call a "caliphate," where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology. Osama bin Laden has called the 9/11 attacks - in his words - "a great step towards the unity of Muslims and establishing the righteous caliphate."

Bush has been facing the lowest ever ratings of his presidential tenure with many in Washington see his aggressive posturing as a Republican strategy for congressional elections later this year. He has been repeatedly facing criticism from Democratic congressmen and senators, with the most recent being a scathing attack by Senator Hillary Clinton on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during a congressional hearing, during which she said, "The secretary has lost credibility with the Congress and with the people. It's time for Rumsfeld to step down and be replaced by someone who can develop an effective strategy and communicate it effectively to the American people and to the world."

In his speech on Tuesday, Bush categorically said that America will not withdraw from Iraq despite growing opposition. "If we retreat from Iraq, if we don't uphold our duty to support those who are desirous to live in liberty 50 years from now, history will look back on our time with unforgiving clarity and demand to know why we did not act," he said.

He later compared bin Laden with Russia's Vladimir Lenin and Germany's Adolf Hitler. The Soviet Empire he established killed tens of millions, and brought the world to the brink of thermonuclear war," he said, and added, "The world ignored Hitler's words, and paid a terrible price." He said: Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. The question is: Will we listen? Will we pay attention to what these evil men say… We're on the offensive, and we will not rest, we will not retreat, and we will not withdraw from the fight, until this threat to civilization has been removed."

Bush's new five-point strategy for the war on terror

Prevent terror attacks before they occur: "The best way to protect America is to stay on the offense. When terrorists spend their days working to avoid death or capture, it's harder for them to plan and execute new attacks."

Deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw regimes and terrorists: "Working with Great Britain and Pakistan and other nations, the United States shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear trading cartel, the AQ Khan network."

Deny terrorists the support of outlaw regimes: "Thanks to our efforts, there are now three fewer state sponsors of terror in the world than there were on September the 11th, 2001. Afghanistan and Iraq have been transformed from terrorist states into allies in the war on terror.  And the nation of Libya has renounced terrorism."

Deny terrorist networks control of any nation, or territory within a nation: "By helping governments reclaim full sovereign control over their territory, we make ourselves more secure."

Deny terrorists new recruits: "In the long run, the only way to secure our nation is to change the course of the Middle East. So America has committed its influence in the world to advancing freedom and liberty and democracy as the great alternatives to repression and radicalism."