Bush invokes 9/11 in Iraq war

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- President Bush last night warned Americans not to forget the lessons of September 11, declaring that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror and asserting that finishing the military mission there "is vital to the future security of our country."

"The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like [Abu Musab] Zarqawi and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like [Osama] bin Laden. For the sake of our nation's security, this will not happen on my watch," he told an audience of 750 troops at Fort Bragg.

The president -- delivering a prime-time, televised speech at the home of the 82nd Airborne and Special Operations Forces -- acknowledged the "horrifying" TV pictures of death and violence that Americans see each day.

But in his 28-minute speech, he asked and answered a rhetorical question -- one that polls show is on the minds of many Americans.

"Amid all the violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is it worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the security of our country," he said.

Mr. Bush said he thinks that despite polls showing Americans are losing confidence in the war, "the American people do not falter under threat, and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins."

"We have more work to do, and there will be tough moments that test America's resolve," he said. "They are trying to shake our will in Iraq -- just as they tried to shake our will on September the 11th, 2001. They will fail."

Mr. Bush again refused to set a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops, but vowed that U.S. forces would "stay in Iraq as long as we are needed -- and not a day longer."

"I recognize that Americans want our troops to come home as quickly as possible. So do I," he said.

"Setting an artificial timetable would send the wrong message to the Iraqis -- who need to know that America will not leave before the job is done. It would send the wrong message to our troops -- who need to know that we are serious about completing the mission they are risking their lives to achieve. And it would send the wrong message to the enemy -- who would know that all they have to do is to wait us out."