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President Bush Honors War Veterans, Reaffirms Tough Stance on Iraq - 2002-11-11


Honoring the nation's war veterans, President Bush has vowed to defeat terrorism and disarm Iraq. Speaking at a Veterans Day ceremony today (Monday) at Arlington National Cemetery, the president said U-S forces are now serving on the scattered battlefields of a new kind of war in Afghanistan and beyond. Mr. Bush said this new kind of war also requires the United States to confront Iraq and disarm Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein if he fails to disarm himself.

President Bush laid a wreath at the cemetery's Tomb of the Unknowns to honor American soldiers who died in battle. He also spoke of the estimated 25-million living military veterans in the United States, and paid homage to all veterans, the living and the dead.

Earlier today at a White House reception for veterans, the president reaffirmed his doctrine of preemptive military action against terror networks, and if necessary, against Iraq. He said confronting the threat posed by Saddam Hussein is an urgent task for the United States and the world.

President Bush said U-S soldiers have been seen as liberators -- and not as conquerors -- in many countries around the world. He said the United States has no territorial ambitions in Iraq and will remain a friend to the Iraqi people.

Before the reception, President Bush paid a somber visit in the rain to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The V-shaped black granite wall inscribed with the names of America's dead in Vietnam was dedicated 20 years ago. It is the most visited monument in Washington D-C.

Ceremonies are being held across the country today to honor the men and women who served in the U-S military.

The November 11th Veteran's Day holiday has its origins in the armistice that ended World War One in 1918.

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