Bush lashes out against Islamic militants

US President George Bush today accused Islamic militants of seeking to “enslave whole nations and intimidate the world” and charged they have made Iraq their main front.

“The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia,” Bush said.

The president has been stepping up his defence of his Iraq policy in the face of declining public support for the war and a crucial test in Iraq with the October 15 constitutional referendum.

In a speech before the National Endowment for Democracy, Bush likened the ideology of Islamic militants to communism. And he said they are being “aided by elements of the Arab news media that incite hatred and anti-semitism.”

“Against such an enemy, there’s only one effective response: We never back down, never give in and never accept anything less than complete victory,” Bush declared.

He spoke as recent polls show declining American support for the war that has thus far claimed more than 1,940 members of the US military. His Iraq policy faces a crucial test in Iraq’s October 15 referendum on a new constitution, a vote that Bush has said terrorists will try to derail.

“We are facing a radical ideology with immeasurable objectives to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world,” Bush said.

Bush said the terrorists are aided by corrupt charities that direct money to terrorist activities and nations, such as Syria and Iran, calling them “allies of convenience” that back terrorists.

Countering claims that US military presence in Iraq is fuelling radicalism, Bush noted that American troops were not in Iraq on September 11, 2001. He said Russia did not support the military action in Iraq, yet a terrorist attack in Beslan, Russia, left more than 300 schoolchildren dead in 2004.

“The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in the war against humanity. And we must recognise Iraq as the central front in our war on terror.”

“Our commitment is clear – we will not relent until the organised international terror networks are exposed and broken and their leaders held to account for their acts of murder,” Bush said.

Bush said no one should estimate the difficulties ahead and should not be pessimistic about US efforts to battle terrorism.

“With every random bombing. And with every funeral of a child, it becomes more clear that the extremists are not patriots, or resistance fighters,” Bush said.

“They are murderers at war with the Iraqi people themselves.”

Bush took on war critics in the US.

“There’s always a temptation in the middle of a long struggle to seek the quiet life, to escape the duties and problems of the world and to hope the enemy grows weary of fanaticism and tired of murder,” he said.

But he vowed not to retreat from Iraq or from the broader war on terrorism.

“We will keep our nerve and we will win that victory,” Bush said.