Bush defends policy on Iraq war

Mr Bush is interrupting his holiday to make two speeches on the war

President George W Bush has restated his policy that the US will "stay the course" in Iraq as he interrupted his holiday to address war veterans.

Mr Bush said a "policy of retreat and isolation" would not make the US safer.

His remarks in Salt Lake City are the first of two speeches on the war this week and come with anti-war protesters still camped outside his Texas ranch.

The US anti-war movement has been reinvigorated by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq.

The only way to defend to our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live US President George Bush President's well-worn case

Mr Bush spoke to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention as negotiators in Iraq struggled against a midnight deadline to complete a draft constitution.

The president said it was a difficult process that required debate and compromise and that Americans understood the challenges facing Iraqis.

With US casualties rising and his approval rating falling, Mr Bush used now familiar language to urge Americans to stand united in the war in Iraq - and the wider war on terror.

"The only way to defend to our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live," he said.

He again stated that US troops would only come home from Iraq when the Iraqi security forces could "stand up" to take the fight to insurgents.

"As Iraqis stand up, Americans will stand down," the president said.

Mr Bush also put what is happening in Iraq into a historical context.

He said that America's own history demonstrated that writing a constitution was a task complicated by political rivalries and regional disagreements.

Controversial ad

The administration hopes the passage of a new Iraqi constitution and elections to a new government - scheduled for December - will reinforce a sense among Americans that progress is being made.

The anti-war movement had been struggling to find a voice, before Cindy Sheehan's protest

While the US is not yet experiencing a collapse in public support for the war, a recent Gallup poll suggested 56% of Americans believe it is going very badly or moderately badly.

A controversial television ad featuring Cindy Sheehan was running in Salt Lake City ahead of the president's speech, although one local TV station refused to air it.

On Sunday evening, folk singer and peace activist Joan Baez joined the anti-war protest at Crawford, performing for about 500 people near the president's ranch.

Mr Bush has ruled out a pullout from Iraq in the short term, at least, and on Saturday cited the upcoming fourth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States and said Iraq was a cause worth fighting for.

"Our troops know that ... if we do not confront these evil men abroad, we will have to face them one day in our own cities and streets," he said in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

However, critics say Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and that the administration has tried to tie Iraq to terrorism since the war to justify its actions.

After Salt Lake City, Mr Bush will go to Idaho for two days. He will speak on the war on terror there on Wednesday before resuming his vacation.