Bush says U.S. will fight the war on terror as long as he's president

NAMPA, Idaho -- President Bush vowed anew that there would be no retreat from the war in Iraq as he addressed a rocking crowd of military families Wednesday, a supportive contrast to the anti-war demonstrators who have been shadowing him wherever he goes.

"So long as I'm the president, we will stay, we will fight, and we will win the war on terror," Bush told National Guard troops and their families. Afterward, he met privately with relatives of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

About 150 protesters gathered across a parking lot from the arena where Bush spoke. Smaller groups were allowed closer in designated areas. Anti-war activists have staged vigils outside his ranch in Texas and during his three-day trip to Utah and Idaho.

Bush praised the unique role of Guard members, who serve both their states and their country. More than 243,000 National Guard members have been called up for the war, including more than 1,700 from Idaho.

Referring specifically to the war's growing death toll, a recent change in his remarks on Iraq, Bush said 491 Guard and Reserve members had lost their lives. "And now we'll honor their sacrifice by completing their mission," he said.

In all, more than 2,000 U.S. military service members have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was Bush's first trip as president to this strongly Republican state, and his second speech in the West this week seeking to rebuild support for his Iraq war policy.

Bush didn't say anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's name, but he clearly sought to discredit the campaign for immediate withdrawal advocated by the slain soldier's mother, who has been camping outside his Crawford, Texas, ranch.

"An immediate withdrawal of our troops in Iraq or the broader Middle East, as some have called for, would only embolden the terrorists and create a staging ground to launch more attacks against America and free nations," Bush said.

Idaho is one of Bush's strongest centers of support, and he was received like a rock star on the stage at the packed Idaho Center.

Many in the cheering audience of thousands wore camouflage.

Some Democrats, including party Chairman Howard Dean, said Bush has failed the guardsmen and reservists by overextending them without proper training or equipment. "Guard and Reserve troops have been shortchanged, just as they risk their lives day in and day out to keep us safe," Dean said in a statement.

But those in Bush's audience rallied behind their commander in chief, repeatedly interrupting his speech with applause and standing ovations.

Bush said the United States must stay on the offense even as troop casualties mount and violence continues.

"Now they're trying to break our will with acts of violence," Bush said. "They'll kill women and children knowing that the images of their brutality will horrify civilized people. Their goal is to force us to retreat."

"They are going to fail," Bush said, leaning into the microphone and raising his voice.

"The stakes in Iraq could not be higher," he added, painting a bleak scenario if U.S. troops retreat and insurgents prevail. "We will not allow the terrorists to establish new places of refuge in failed states from which they can recruit and train and plan new attacks on our citizens," he said.

Bush said political progress is being made in Iraq, even though disagreements remain among rival ethnic factions over efforts to approve a constitution.

Among the families invited to meet with Bush was 18-year-old Stevie Bitah. Her father, Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Virgil R. Case, died June 1 from noncombat-related wounds in Iraq.

"At first, I was kind of scared to do it -- I didn't know what to expect. There's been lots of anger and sadness," Bitah said. She said she wanted Bush to "know that this person I lost was important to me -- not only to me, but to my entire family."

Outside, Brenda Mansell of Boise was among the protesters standing in one of the small close-in zones set up for demonstrators. She said she put her 20-year-old son, a Marine, on a plane Tuesday for his second tour of duty in Iraq.

"This has to stop," Mansell said, holding a photo of her son, Scott, and a sign calling for his return home. "Maybe if it starts with the mothers, the rest of the world will follow."

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