Bush details importance of Iraq success

RENO -- President Bush warned Tuesday about the growing menace of Iran and vowed that as long as he is commander in chief the United States will not abandon Iraq before achieving a military and political victory.

"We fight them over there so we do not have to face them in the United States of America," Bush told a crowd of 10,000 American Legion members gathered in Reno for their national convention. "We will persevere, and we will prevail. We protect the American people by taking the fight to the enemy."

Bush said Iran increasingly has provided munitions to terrorists, and the country's development of nuclear weapons puts the region "under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust."

"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere," he said. "We will confront this danger before it is too late."

He said he has authorized U.S. "military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities" but did not elaborate.

If the United States left Iraq, that would signal to neighboring Iran that "we are weak" and lead Iran to expand its efforts to develop nuclear weapons, Bush said.

"America will not abandon Iraq in its hour of need," said Bush, who was cheered repeatedly throughout his 45-minute speech.

In response to Bush's remarks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the president "missed the mark yet again." Reid said Bush's flawed strategy has cost more than 3,700 U.S. lives, nearly half a trillion dollars and shattered U.S. power and prestige around the world.

"The President continues to stubbornly pursue a flawed strategy that has mired our troops in a civil war in Iraq and diverted our attention as Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida grow stronger," Reid said. "Most Americans, and a bipartisan majority in Congress, believe this strategy is not in our national interest and the time for a major change in strategy is now."

Bush's speech before members of the nation's largest veterans organization was his second in a week devoted to building support for the unpopular war, now in its fifth year.

Last week before the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, he likened the importance of today's fight against extremism in Iraq to pivotal past U.S. conflicts in Vietnam, Korea and Japan.

The president arrived in Reno at 7:30 p.m. Monday, spent the night at the Grand Sierra Resort and left shortly after delivering his speech and meeting with hundreds of veterans, many of whom served in World War II.

Bush maintained his surge of 30,000 additional U.S. troops has made Iraq more secure and resulted in the killing of 1,500 terrorists a month.

"There are unmistakable signs that our strategy is achieving the objectives we set out," he said.

But he also acknowledged the national government in Iraq has not met the benchmarks set by Congress.

After more territory in Iraq is secure from insurgents, Bush predicted the national government will achieve goals expected of a democratic government. The national government is already sharing oil revenues with the provinces, he said.

He is also encouraged by a tentative agreement on power-sharing announced Sunday by Sunni and Shiite leaders in Iraq.

"It will take time for the recent progress we have seen in security to translate into political progress," Bush said. "We seek justice and dignity for all the people in the Middle East. Our security depends on it."

He advised critics of the war to withhold judgment until mid-September, when Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker deliver a report to Congress on the progress in Iraq.

"I hope they withhold their conclusions and wait until they can hear these men out."

Yet with his ringing defense of the war effort, Bush sounded as if he had already made up his mind to stay and fight.

During his speech, Bush saluted Gov. Jim Gibbons, a Vietnam and Persian Gulf War veteran, and Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev.

While his speech dealt almost entirely with the Iraq War, Bush received the loudest cheers when he told the American Legion conventioneers that he wants Congress to pass legislation to protect the U.S. flag.

After the speech, Vietnam veteran Jim McCrady of Peoria, Ariz., expressed his disgust with Bush and his war policy.

"We are in a quagmire here like in Vietnam, same thing," said McCrady, who wore a "Jane Fonda, American Traitor" button on a vest covered with military medals.

Paul Bingham, a Utah veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, expressed support for Bush.

"People get in a hurry," said the 79-year-old Bingham. "They want things done now. Let's do it right so we don't have to do it again."

Police kept a group of about 25 protesters several hundred yards away from the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, where Bush spoke.

One protester, Korean War veteran Doug Smith of Reno, said the best way to support U.S. troops is to bring them home now.

"We went in there under false pretenses and now (that) we are there we can't figure out how to get them out," said Smith.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.