Bush plays terrorism card

THE war on terrorism has been US President George W Bush’s strong suit since the September 11 terrorist attacks, and he still sees that issue as a political winner.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, Bush made more than 20 references to terrorism in defending his policies against those who would bring harm to America again.

At the same time, Bush had less to say about issues where he faces criticism: the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and mounting US casualties in the difficult post-war transition in that country.