Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 20, 2004
Bush marks Iraq war anniversary with vow to fight terrorists
In a major speech marking the one-year anniversary of the US-led Iraq war, US President George W.Bush vowed on Friday to fight "al Qaeda allies" and promised "they will face their day of justice."
In a major speech marking the one-year anniversary of the US-led Iraq war, US President George W.Bush vowed on Friday to fight "al Qaeda allies" and promised "they will face their day of justice."
Terrorists had killed innocent people around the world, and there was "no neutral ground in the fight between civilization andterror," he told an audience at the White House.
Bush said there could be no separate peace with the terrorist enemy, and any sign of weakness or retreat simply validated terrorist violence and invited more violence for all nations.
The US coalition was sending "an unmistakable message" to the terrorists, including those who struck in Madrid," he said. He promised the killers would "be tracked down and found" and "face their day of justice."
"No concession will appease their hatred. No accommodation willsatisfy their endless demands," he said.
With the public sharply divided on the Iraq war and his Iraq policy, Bush's speech on Friday is seen as a major effort to rally support for the war on terrorism, when he is campaigning for reelection.
"Each of us has pledged before the world we will never bow to the violence of a few. We will face this mortal danger, and we will overcome it together," he said.
Terrorists had attacked many countries, and each of the attackswas "a shock and a tragedy and a test of our will," he said.
"No nation or region is exempt from the terrorist campaign of violence," he added. He vowed to answer each attack "not only withsorrow, but with greater determination, deeper resolve and bolder action against the killers."
The president said the United States was using all kinds of tools, such as finance, intelligence, law enforcement and military power to break terror networks, to deny them refuge and to find their leaders.
Over the past 30 months, US authorities have frozen or seized nearly 200 million US dollars in assets of terror networks, captured or killed some two-thirds of al Qaeda's known leaders andmany of al Qaeda's associates, he said. ��