President pays tribute to lost soldier

President George W Bush has expressed his sorrow to the family of the US soldier killed in an ambush in Afghanistan.

But he vowed that the man "lost his life for a cause that is just and important."

"That cause is the security of the American people, of freedom of the civilised world," Bush said in Ontario, California, in a 90-day update of the war against terrorism.

Sgt 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman, 31, was the first American soldier to die from hostile fire in the action.

An unidentified CIA officer was seriously wounded.

"I can assure the parents and loved ones of Nathan Chapman he lost his life for a cause that is just and important," he said.

During a town hall meeting, Bush said the war has entered "a dangerous phase" with US special forces hunting terrorist leaders cave by cave on treacherous Afghan terrain.

He said Americans must continue to be patient in the ongoing war.

"We've only been at war for 90 days. That's not a very long period of time, but in 90 days we've made incredible progress," he said.

"They think they can run, they think they can hide, because they think this country's soft and impatient," he added. "But they're going to continue to learn the terrible lesson that says don't mess with America."