QUANTICO, Va. - President Bush Monday called the deadly bombings in London an attack against the civilized world and vowed "we will not yield."
Drawing parallels among fighting terrorism, World War Two and the Cold War, Bush declared: "Like fascism and communism before, the hateful ideologies that use terror will be defeated by the unstoppable power of freedom and democracy."
"The only way the terrorists can win is if we lose our nerve. This is not going to happen on my watch," he said to applause from agents, Marines and emergency workers at an FBI facility south of Washington.
Bush, who was with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a Group of Eight summit in Scotland when the attacks occurred in London last Thursday, said it was unclear who was responsible for the bombings that killed more than 50 people, but noted that "we have damaged the al Qaeda network across the world."
One American citizen is missing and presumed killed in the attacks, U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. He declined to elaborate to protect the privacy of the victim's family.
But a State Department official, who asked not to be named, said the American was a man who lived in London and was believed to have been killed in one of the bombings on the subway as he made his way to work. Four other Americans were wounded in the attacks.
"The attack in London was an attack on the civilized world, and the civilized world is united in its resolve," Bush said. "We will not yield, we will defend our freedom."
Bush expressed U.S. solidarity with the British people.
"This week there's great suffering in the city of London. but Londoners are resilient. They have faced brutal enemies before. The city that survived the Nazi blitz will not yield in the face of thugs and assassins," he said.
Bush receives strong job-approval ratings for his leadership on the war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but is viewed with great skepticism on his handling of the Iraq war, which he called the "central front" in the battle.
He said that in the long run the only way to defeat Islamic militants is to "advance the cause of freedom" in the Middle East, comparing it to when Germany and Japan became allies in the years after World War Two.
"And when the Middle East grows in democracy and prosperity and hope, the terrorists will lose their sponsors. They'll lose their recruits. They will lose their hopes for turning that region into a base of attacks against America and our allies," he said.
As for Iraq, Bush cited progress in training Iraqis to defend themselves, which he said was a requirement for U.S. troops to be able to come home.
Neither he nor White House spokesman Scott McClellan gave credence to reports about a secret memo in which the United States and Britain were said to be drawing up plans to pull out the majority of their troops by the middle of next year.
"Our plan can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down," Bush said.
McClellan told reporters later the military "always plans for all contingencies" and that any troop drawdown would be based on "circumstances on the ground."
"The president has made it clear he's going to complete the mission," McClellan said.
Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Adam Entous
Feeds