WASHINGTON, 13 September 2006 — President George W. Bush vowed on Monday to Osama Bin Laden “America will find you,” as he marked five years since the Sept. 11 attacks with a call for American unity and a plea for support for the Iraq war.
“Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone,” Bush said in an Oval Office address that came amid an election-year debate over the Iraq war and whether America is safer five years after 9/11.
“The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad,” he said.
Criticized by some Democrats for not getting Bin Laden when there was a chance in late 2001, Bush renewed his pledge to track down the elusive spiritual leader of Al-Qaeda.
“Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists are still in hiding. Our message to them is clear: No matter how long it takes, America will find you, and we will bring you to justice,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts accused Bush of using the Sept. 11 anniversary to bolster support for an unpopular war.
“The president should be ashamed of using a national day of mourning to commandeer the airwaves to give a speech that was designed not to unite the country and commemorate the fallen but to seek support for a war in Iraq that he has admitted had ‘nothing’ to do with 9/11,” Kennedy said. “There will be time to debate this president’s policies in Iraq. September 11th is not that time.”
Bush spoke a day after The Washington Post reported that the search for Bin Laden, believed hiding in the mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, had gone “stone cold” with no credible leads in more than two years.
The Sept. 11 crisis brought Americans together in remarkable political harmony behind their untested president, but many parted ways with him when the Iraq war turned out to be far more costly in blood and money than forecast.
Today, Bush’s job approval ratings have barely climbed out of a deep trough and he is fighting to keep his Republicans from being ousted in November elections. Democrats see their best opportunity in years to take control of one or both chambers of the US Congress.
Bush said the war on terrorism was only in its “early hours” and described it as a “struggle for civilization.”
“Our nation has endured trials — and we face a difficult road ahead,” Bush said. “Winning this war will require the determined efforts of a unified country. So we must put aside our differences, and work together to meet the test that history has given us.”
His argument for staying in Iraq amounted to the same theme he has been using on the campaign trail, that it would be wrong to give in to the temptation to pull out of Iraq before the government in Baghdad is stable, which many American increasingly see as a fleeting prospect.
Democrats see the Iraq war as a distraction from the struggle against terrorism. Some would like a phased redeployment of US troops from Iraq by year’s end, forcing Bush to make his case to Americans weary of the war.
“If we yield Iraq to men like Bin Laden, our enemies will be emboldened. They will gain a new safe haven, and they will use Iraq’s resources to fuel their extremist movement. We will not allow this to happen,” he said. “America will stay in the fight.”
Other politicians were also calling for unity. “We must protect and save the American people, because right now we are not fully safe and we are not fully healed,” said the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi. “So it is important for us to continue to come together, for that healing.”
Americans stood in silence and leaders paid their respects on Monday.
From the urban landscape of New York to the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, tearful ceremonies honored the nearly 3,000 victims of the Al-Qaeda attacks, stirring traumatic memories.
Throughout the day, politicians laid wreaths and bagpipes wailed mournfully. Jarring images of Sept. 11 — smoke billowing from the World Trade Center towers, New Yorkers crying in the streets, debris falling — dominated television broadcasts. “It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years. It’s always going to seem like yesterday,” said Felicia Cappo, who lost a brother in the World Trade Center’s south tower.
At Ground Zero, where the 110-story twin towers collapsed, New York police and firefighters marched down a ramp into the pit for a flag-waving ceremony on a day of crisp, clear blue skies, eerily similar to Sept. 11 five years ago.
Spouses and partners of victims read out the names of all 2,749 people who died at the World Trade Center. “This is where my sister was buried. The blue skies this morning are a reminder of that day. Ironically, every year seems to be the same sunny day,” said Eleni Kousoulis, 36, whose younger sister, Danielle, 29, died in the north tower.
“We took our eye off the ball,” New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton told CBS’ “Early Show.” “I mean, we diverted resources and attention to Iraq and we didn’t finish the job.”
