Bush: Fighting extremism in Iraq is crucial to US security
Broadening his defence of the war in Iraq, US President George Bush today said withdrawing US forces would allow the Middle East to be taken over by extremist forces and put the security of the United States in jeopardy.
“I want our fellow citizens to consider what would happen if these forces of radicalism and extremism were allowed to drive us out of the Middle East,” Bush said to thousands of veterans at the American Legion convention in Reno, Nevada.
“The region would be dramatically transformed in a way that could emperil the civilised world.”
Bush got a friendly response from the veterans group in his second major speech in a week seeking to buttress support for the war.
“America will not abandon Iraq in its hour of need,” the president said.
