*EPF302 09/08/2004
White House Report, September 8: Iraq, Afghanistan
(Bush says U.S. to honor fallen troops by completing their mission) (390)

President Bush said the United States mourns the deaths of its soldiers killed in Iraq and will honor their memory by completing their mission.

Speaking to reporters in the White House Cabinet Room during a September 8 meeting with members of Congress, Bush said that by spreading the message of liberty around the world the United States will ultimately prevail in the war against terrorism.

Liberty, Bush said, promotes peace and changes the habits of people. "And that's why we appreciate the sacrifice of the men and women who wear the uniform. They're serving a great cause. We mourn every loss of life. We'll honor their memories by completing the mission."

According to press reports, the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq since March 2003 has surpassed 1,000, following attacks on U.S. forces in Fallujah and Baghdad early in the week of September 5. Most of the deaths have occurred as a result of fighting by Iraqi and foreign insurgents after major combat operations ceased at the beginning of May 2003.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters September 7 that the fallen soldiers "have made the ultimate sacrifice defending freedom and working to spread democracy in a volatile region of the world."

"[W]hether it's one, two, three, or 1,000, or 1,200 when you take in Iraq and Afghanistan, we mourn the loss of every one of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice," he said at a briefing in Columbia, Missouri.

The best way to honor the fallen troops, said McClellan, is to complete their mission to "defeat the ideologies of hatred and to spread freedom."

President Bush also met September 8 with a bipartisan group of senators and representatives at the White House to discuss intelligence reform. Bush told reporters that he will submit a plan to Congress to strengthen the U.S. intelligence services, including the appointment of a national intelligence director with full budgetary authority.

"It's important we get our intelligence gathering correct," Bush said. "After all, we're still at war. We've got to find the enemy before they hurt us. We've got to do everything we can to protect the homeland."

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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