Bush: War hasn't boosted terror

2005-10-06 20:55

Washington - President George W Bush on Thursday denied the US invasion of Iraq had fanned radical Islamic terrorism, as he urged Americans to see the increasingly unpopular war as a key battle in the campaign against terror.

"Some have also argued that extremism has been strengthened by the actions of our coalition in Iraq, claiming that our presence in that country has somehow caused or triggered the rage of radicals," Bush said during a major speech on progress in his "war on terror".

"I'll remind them that we were not in Iraq on September the 11th 2001, and al-Qaeda attacked us anyway.

"The hatred of the radicals existed before Iraq was an issue and it will exist after Iraq is no longer an excuse."

Bush compared terrorist leaders to ideological "fanatics" Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Nazi tyrant Adolf Hitler and Cambodia's Khmer Rouge kingpin Pol Pot.

"Evil men obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience must be taken very seriously and we must stop them before their crimes multiply," Bush said.

Bush went on to say that Islamic radicals were trying to "enslave whole nations and intimidate the world", and called that a prime reason not to withdraw from Iraq.

"The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia," Bush said.

- SAPA