Philly dot Com : Bush salutes military, warns of 'more sacrifice'

Bush salutes military, warns of 'more sacrifice'

By Deb Riechmann | Associated Press

MARTINSBURG, W. Va. - President Bush defended his Iraq war policy in a patriotic Fourth of July talk, saying that while he honors the sacrifice of U.S. troops, now is not the time to bring them home.

The president said victory in Iraq would require "more patience, more courage and more sacrifice."

"If we were to quit Iraq before the job is done, the terrorists we are fighting would not declare victory and lay down their arms. They would follow us here," Bush told a crowd of about 1,000 people gathered at a West Virginia Air National Guard maintenance hangar.

"It's a tough fight, but I wouldn't have asked those troops to go into harm's way if the fight was not essential to the security of the United States of America," he said.

It was the fourth Independence Day that Bush has spent in West Virginia.

He thanked the service members serving abroad and their families, including children at the event who recited the Pledge of Allegiance with him.

He also read from a 1777 newspaper article about an Independence Day celebration in Philadelphia, where people fired artillery, toasted democracy, and watched fireworks that illuminated the sky.

Bush compared the citizen-soldiers of the Continental Army who traded pitchforks for muskets to the guardsmen and other military personnel fighting today.

"We're still celebrating, and rightly so," Bush said.

After the speech, the president returned to the White House, where he will celebrate his 61st birthday tomorrow.