Bush at Pentagon: ‘Win the war’

Standing at the rebuilt Pentagon on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President Bush called on Americans to “renew our commitment to win the war that began here.”

“This war is waged on many fronts,” the president said. “We’ve captured more than 2,000 terrorists; a larger number of killers have met their end in combat. We’ve seized millions in terrorist assets. We’re reorganizing the federal government to protect the homeland. Yet, there’s a great deal left to do.”

As he has said from the beginning, the war against terrorism will last many years. Hinting at actions to come against the Axis of Evil, and particularly Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, the president said, “as long as terrorists and dictators plot against our lives and our liberty, they will be opposed by the United States Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and Marines.”

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld issued a 9/11 statement, warning of hardships ahead: “notwithstanding the many accomplishments, we are still closer to the beginning of this war than to its end. Victory will take patience and courage. But we will prevail.”

Meanwhile, congressional Democrats say they’re not impressed with the administration’s briefing on dangers posed by the Iraqi regime. Not wanting to be “hasty,” in the words of Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, they urge Bush to give Saddam Hussein until after the November congressional election before the U.S. strikes.

Click here for a video of the president’s Pentagon 9/11 speech