Bush delivered a broad and ominous warning

ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, May 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush late Thursday, May 1, declared the war in Iraq "one victory" in a campaign to stamp out "terrorism" that still goes on, stressing U.S. forces are staying in Iraq till "work is done".

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed," Bush told some 5,000 sailors steaming home from the Gulf aboard this nuclear aircraft carrier, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

On a day when a grenade attack in Iraq wounded seven U.S. troops, Bush did not formally declare the hostilities over, experts said, because doing so would obligate the United States under international law to set free an estimated 6,000 Iraqi prisoners of war, and would complicate the hunt for Saddam, which would no longer be considered a military mission.

Without explicitly mentioning Iran and North Korea, whom he lumped together with Iraq in an "axis of evil" a year ago, Bush delivered a broad and ominous warning that could encompass both.

"Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups, and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction, is a grave danger to the civilized world, and will be confronted," he threatened.

"Any person, organization, or government that supports, protects, or harbors terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent, and equally guilty of terrorist crimes," he added.

Bush acknowledged that U.S.-led forces in Iraq have yet to find weapons of mass destruction he made central to his case for launching a pre-emptive war that split traditional U.S. allies; that the hunt for Saddam and his tops aides was still underway; and that building a "democratic" Iraq would be hard.

"The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave -- and we will leave behind a free Iraq," he said.

"Dangerous Work"

In the fading rays of the setting springtime sun, Bush also said "dangerous work" remains in Afghanistan despite the rout of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

"Al-Qaeda is wounded, not destroyed," he said. "The war on terror is not over, yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide."

Earlier, in Kabul, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld praised advances in Afghanistan since the Taliban regime was ousted at the end of 2001, saying events there had "clearly moved from major combat activities to a period of stability and stabilization and reconstruction activities."

As he basked in a moment tailor-made for his 2004 reelection bid, Bush's focus was on celebrating the swift Iraq campaign, six weeks and a day after he announced its beginning in a tense Oval Office speech.

"The Battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on "terror" that began on September 11, 2001, and still goes on," said Bush, who wore a dark suit, bright red tie, and white shirt as he addressed his uniformed audience.

The event was so carefully choreographed that Navy officials slowed the ship down during the day so that no land would be visible in television footage of the speech, according to a U.S. official.

Television networks frequently re-played Bush's dramatic landing on the carrier aboard a Navy combat plane, and showed him swaggering in a flight suit among the thronged sailors all eager to be photographed with him.

Bush said that nearly half of bin Laden's global network had been captured or killed, and reiterated the controversial charge that toppling Saddam had deprived al-Qaeda of "an ally."

But he did not declare a formal end to hostilities, experts said, because doing so would obligate the United States under international law to set free an estimated 6,000 Iraqi prisoners of war, and would complicate the hunt for Saddam, which would no longer be considered a military mission.

In his address, the first by a sitting U.S. president aboard a carrier at sea, the U.S. leader also linked the war on terrorism -- albeit loosely -- to efforts to end the Middle East conflict via a just-released "road-map" to peace.

"We are committed to freedom in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in a peaceful Palestine. The advance of freedom is the surest strategy to undermine the appeal of terror," said the president.

Earlier, Bush discussed that blueprint, which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005, with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

The Abraham Lincoln, which carries some 5,000 crew, was returning from 10 months at sea -- the longest carrier battle group deployment in three decades -- during which its aircraft flew missions to enforce the U.S. imposed "no-fly" zones in Iraq; support the war on "terrorism"; and finally attack Iraq.

The president was to overnight on the carrier, leaving Friday before it reaches San Diego on its way to its home port of Everett, Washington.

Bush then heads to Santa Clara, California, for remarks on the economy and national security before traveling to his Texas ranch for weekend talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a key Iraq war supporter.