Bush credits Fort Bragg valor for success

In July Fourth speech, he says he won't set timetable for troop withdrawal

FORT BRAGG -- President Bush spent a muggy Fourth of July morning with soldiers and their families at Fort Bragg, thanking them for battling terrorists abroad and declaring that they are winning in Iraq.

Bush linked their valor to that of the Revolutionary Army soldiers, whose fighting backed up the Declaration of Independence and, he said, made sure it was more than "radical musings" forgotten by history.

Today's troops are preserving the liberty first sought 230 years ago, Bush said.

"And because of your courage, every day is Independence Day in America," Bush told about 3,000 cheering soldiers, many just home from Iraq or Afghanistan.

He also cited the courage of one North Carolina-based soldier, an amputee who has rejoined his company after a quicker-than-usual rehabilitation.

The visit Tuesday at Bragg, a sprawling army base about 70 miles south of Raleigh, was very different from Bush's last stop here one year ago, when he addressed the nation from a room full of quiet troopers.

Then, in a subdued prime-time speech that sought to rally the nation, Bush acknowledged the toll of bombings and bloodshed but said the sacrifice was worth it.

But now, more Americans believe sending troops to Iraq was a mistake when compared with a year ago, according to the latest Gallup polling. And a majority do not think the war is going well.

Bush, who arrived on Air Force One about 9 a.m., spoke in front of a well-known statue on the base, a paratrooper poised for battle, amid flapping American flags and excited soldiers.

He briefly acknowledged that more work is ahead in Iraq, but he said that the terrorists and insurgents there are vulnerable now and that U.S. soldiers are attacking and succeeding.

During the rally, Bush drew attention to one soldier -- Capt. Chip Eldridge, 36, who lost part of his left leg in a mine explosion while searching for insurgents in Afghanistan in late 2004.

Eldridge, who later showed reporters his prosthetic leg, has been in rehabilitation and volunteered to return to duty. A husband with twin 3-year-old boys, he will return to combat next year, he said.

"It's what I've trained to do - and it's what I want to do so my children won't have to," he said.

Points of progress

Bush also pointed out that the U.S. bombed and killed the Jordanian terrorist and leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. After a bomb ripped through Zarqawi's safehouse, Bush said, a soldier from Fort Bragg gave him medical attention.

"When this brutal terrorist took his final breath, one of the last things he saw was the face of an American soldier from Fort Bragg, North Carolina," Bush said to applause.

Bush said soldiers recently captured a Tunisian terror leader responsible for bombing the holy Golden Mosque in Samarra.

Ongoing raids are producing valuable evidence and intelligence, Bush said. He said forces in the past few weeks have captured more than 700 enemies and killed 60 more. "We are on the offense," Bush said.

He did not offer any new policies or outline any changes in current ones but reiterated that he intends to keep forces in Iraq to help the people there be free. He said he would not set any timetables for withdrawing troops, a subject of debate in Washington.

"A free Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will make America and the world more secure," Bush said. "I'm going to make you this promise: I'm not going to allow the sacrifice of 2,527 troops who have died in Iraq to be in vain by pulling out before the job is done."

As he spoke, there was more grim news from Iraq. On Tuesday, a roadside bomb struck a police patrol in eastern Baghdad, killing three policemen and wounding three others, police reported.

N.C. Democrats' view

Democrats praised Bush for meeting with soldiers Tuesday but said the president should do more to outline a detailed exit strategy that includes a plan for success.

"The more we stay there, the more we are going to be in the crossfire of a civil war," said Rep. Brad Miller, a Raleigh Democrat who has visited troops in Iraq. "We need for the president to give us an idea of when we've reached our goals and what they are."

Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Democrat from Lillington whose district includes part of Fort Bragg, said the U.S. should not lead the fight on its own.

"The fight for a democratic Iraq should be the world's fight," he said, and he urged Bush to persuade more allies to join in.

Protesters also criticized the president. About 75 people gathered across town to voice displeasure. The demonstration was about outrage, sorrow and solidarity and was an attempt to draw out members of the military who oppose the war, said Lou Plummer, an event organizer.

Other soldiers also backed Bush's stay-on-track message.

Col. Bill Buckner of the 18th Airborne Corps spent a year in Iraq. Consistency counts, he said.

"We are contributing there," he said. "I saw three elections in one year. It's amazing to see the resolve of the Iraqi people."

Before returning to Washington, Bush ate a lunch of salad and macaroni and cheese with troops in a base dining hall. A group of soldiers brought him a flag-emblazoned cake for his 60th birthday -- it's on Thursday -- and others sang "Happy Birthday."

(Staff writer Eric Ferreri contributed to this report.)