Bush Speech Links Iraq War And Nazis

President Says U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq Would Give Victory To Enemies

(CBS/AP)  "If America were to pull out before Iraq can defend itself, the consequences would be absolutely predictable — and absolutely disastrous," Mr. Bush said. "We would be handing Iraq over to our worst enemies."

Mr. Bush said Saddam sympathizers, armed groups backed by Iran and al Qaeda terrorists from across the world would use Iraq as a base of operation.

"They would have a new sanctuary to recruit and train terrorists at the heart of the Middle East, with huge oil riches to fund their ambitions," the president said. "And we know exactly where those ambitions lead. If we give up the fight in the streets of Baghdad, we will face the terrorists in the streets of our own cities."

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid dismissed the president's remarks, the third set of such addresses within a year.

"No matter how many speeches the president gives, the truth is that his failed policies have taken the country in a dangerous direction," Reid said. "The American people know that five years after September 11th, we are not as safe as we should and could be. Iraq is in crisis, our military is stretched thin, and terrorist groups and extremist regimes have been strengthened and emboldened across the Middle East and the world. It is time for a new direction."

Mr. Bush's series of speeches are to continue Tuesday, with remarks in Washington before the Military Officers Association of America and members of the diplomatic corps. It is to continue through Sept. 19, when the president is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

The president said rising insurgency in Afghanistan would ultimately fail. He said international peacekeepers sent in to quell the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah would succeed in stopping the militant Islamic group from "acting as a state within a state."

He disputed claims that Iraq had descended into civil war, saying U.S. diplomats and military officials in Iraq say only a small fraction of Iraqis are engaged in sectarian violence.

And Mr. Bush accused Syria of sponsoring terrorism and said Iran was interfering in Iraq and pursuing nuclear weapons.

He said America's enemies include radical Sunnis who pledge allegiance to al Qaeda and militant Shiias who join groups like Hezbollah and take guidance from state sponsors like Syria and Iran. Yet, despite their differences, Mr. Bush said, they all subscribe to the same ideology that free societies are a threat to their "twisted view of Islam."