Bush Vows 'Total Victory' Over Terror

Eli Lake, The NY Sun:

President Bush yesterday urged America to rally behind him in supporting the war in Iraq and the fight against terrorists, who, he warned, "hope to attack our country." In the face of mounting skepticism at home over Iraq, Mr. Bush drew parallels between the country's difficulties in drafting a new constitution and the obstacles tackled by the Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention.

"Vast oceans and friendly neighbors are not enough to protect us. A policy of retreat and isolation will not bring us safety. The only way to defend our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live," Mr. Bush said to a cheering throng at the national convention for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Salt Lake City. He vowed a "total victory" over terror. READ MORE

In a summer of rising death counts of Iraqis and Americans, the president emphasized progress the elected government of Iraq has made on a constitution this week. Yesterday the committee drafting the constitution submitted a version of the document to the transitional assembly. It will, over the next three days, make revisions before voting on the constitution, which will then be put to a referendum vote in October.

Mr. Bush called the cooperation by Iraqis on the document "a landmark event in the history of Iraq and the history of the Middle East." He added, "All of Iraq's main ethnic and religious groups are working together on this vital project. All made the courageous choice to join the political process, and together they will produce a constitution that reflects the values and traditions of the Iraqi people."

Acknowledging recent stumbling blocks over key issues and deadline struggles, Mr. Bush said, "We know this from our own history. The Constitutional Convention was home to political rivalries and regional disagreements."

Iraq's draft constitution, however, is reported to include a clause that would require future legislation passed by the country's parliament to adhere to the strictures of Islamic law. A similar provision in neighboring Iran's constitution has stifled nearly all democratic reforms in the area.

Mr. Bush made the case that the war in Iraq was a necessary component of his three-pronged strategy to win what he is still calling the "war on terror." His aids have started referring to the fight as the "global struggle against violent extremism."

"Iraq is a central front in the war on terror," the president said. "It is a vital part of our mission. Terrorists like bin Laden and his ally, Zarqawi, are trying to turn Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban, a place where women are beaten, religious and ethnic minorities are executed, and terrorists have sanctuary to plot attacks against free people."

While Mr. Bush's rhetoric was not new, the speech was significant in light of plummeting poll numbers. According to a Newsweek survey from earlier this month, 34% of Americans approve of the president's management of the war. For the last three weeks, the press has fixated on the mother of a fallen soldier, Cindy Sheehan, who set up a camp outside the Bush family's ranch in Crawford, Texas, and is demanding a meeting with the man she has described as the world's worst terrorist.

Senator Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska who is likely to run for president in 2008, recently launched a series of attacks on the president's foreign policy and his handling of the war. On Sunday, Mr. Hagel compared the current war to the conflict in Vietnam, in which he served. "The longer we stay, the more problems we have, the more occupying force dynamics that flow into this. The influence of the outside people, as well as the inside people, are going to hurt this country," Mr. Hagel told ABC.

Mr. Bush reiterated that American soldiers will come home when Iraqi security forces are capable of defending the country against the terrorist insurgency.

"As Iraqis stand up, Americans will stand down," the president said. "And when Iraqi forces can defend their freedom by taking on more and more of the fight to the enemy, our troops will come home with the honor they have earned."

"The generation of men and women who defend our freedom today is taking its rightful place among the heroes of our nation's history," he said, comparing today's soldiers to those who fought in World Wars I and II.

There has been recent concern that terrorists and criminals have infiltrated the police force the president hopes will help catch them. A report released in July from the inspector generals of the State Department and the Pentagon said, "Inducting criminals into the [Iraqi Police Service] is a continual concern. Even more troubling is infiltration by intending terrorists or insurgents. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that such persons indeed are among the ranks of the IPS."