We'll defeat terror, vows Bush

US president George Bush answered a soldier’s shout of ‘‘Let’s get Saddam!’’ with a promise to defeat the ‘‘mounting danger’’ of terrorist regimes.

‘‘We will use diplomacy when possible and force when necessary,’’ Bush told thousands of flag-waving members of the 10th Mountain Division, many of whom served in Afghanistan, at Fort Drum, New York.

In a dusty, scorched-grass field, the president rallied troops from a makeshift stage. His 22-minute speech was punctuated by applause and shouts of ‘‘Hoo-ah!’’ the traditional Army yell of approval.

Bush did not mention Saddam Hussein or Iraq, Iran and North Korea, countries he has said constitute an ‘‘axis of evil,’’ but his audience read between the lines.

‘‘Some parts of the world, there will be no substitute for direct action by the United States. That is when we will send you, our military, to win the battles that only you can win,’’ the president said.

He urged Democrats in the Senate to swiftly pass a huge boost in Pentagon spending already approved by the Republican-led House.

One soldier yelled: ‘‘Let’s get Saddam!’’ A thunderclap of applause and shouts forced Bush to pause.

He did not react directly to the challenge, but renewed his case, opposed by most US allies, for the United States to intervene against oppressive regimes that produce, hide and prepare to use weapons of mass destruction.

‘‘These tyrants and terrorists have one thing in common: whatever their plans and schemes, they will not be restrained by a hint of humanity or conscience,’’ Bush said.

‘‘The enemies of America no longer need great armies to attack our people. They require only great hatred, made more dangerous by advanced technologies.’’

In Macon, Georgia, on Friday, Vice President Dick Cheney threatened US military action against Iraq unless Saddam Hussein agrees not to compile weapons of mass destruction.

‘‘We have a dictator who is clearly pursuing these types of weapons. The government of the United States will not look the other way as threats accumulate against us,’’ Cheney said.

The 10th Mountain, a light infantry, rapid-deployment force ready to go anywhere in the world within 48 hours, was the US Army’s most frequently deployed division in the 1990s.

Based at Fort Drum since 1985, the division earned its reputation in the Second World War. Its soldiers scaled a sheer cliff in northern Italy, fought their way through the snowy mountains and spearheaded the drive that would liberate the country from the Nazis.