By Jessie Elder
Four years ago, the United States fell under terrorist attack. Yesterday, President Bush spoke before the National Endowment for Democracy and said there will be no rest until the war on terror is won.
?Against such an enemy there is only one effective response: We will never back down, never give in and never accept anything less than complete victory,? Bush said.
Refuting claims of those arguing that the presence of the United States in Iraq has triggered the rage of radicals, Bush said there were no troops in Iraq on September the 11th, 2001, but Al Qaida attacked anyway.
America is not the only country under the attack of terrorists. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, more than 14 other countries have seen what Bush calls ?the evil of that [Sept. 11] morning.?
Even Russia, whose government did not support Operation Iraqi Freedom according to Bush, lost more than 180 school children in Beslan as the result of militant attacks.
Working with other countries as partners, Bush said all those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks have been killed or captured, and 10 serious Al Qaida terrorist plots have been disrupted; including three plots to attack inside the United States.
?Our commitment is clear,? Bush said. ?We will not relent until the organized, international terror networks are exposed and broken and their leaders held to account for their acts of murder.?
Bush compared the ideology of Iraqi militants to the totalitarian aims of communism.
?Under their rule, they have banned books and desecrated historical monuments and brutalized women,? he said. ?They seek to end dissent in every form and to control every aspect of life and to rule the soul itself.?
While no one should underestimate the difficulties ahead, Bush said, the advantages brought to the fight by the United States should also not be overlooked and called for more sacrifice, more time and more resolve.
?With every random bombing and with every funeral of a child it becomes clear that the extremists are not patriots or resistance fighters,? Bush said. ? They are murderers at war with the Iraqi people themselves.?
