Scaling back from earlier explicit charges, Bush spoke of Iraq’s "mass destruction-related program activities" (AFP)

WASHINGTON, January 21 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – In his election-year State of the Union speech, U.S. President George Bush defiantly defended the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, urging Americans to re-elect him to pursue the so-called war on terror.

Addressing a joint session of Congress, aired live to millions of television viewers, Bush claimed that those who pushed for U.N. mandate before the war or worried about opposition from traditional allies like France and Germany would have imperiled U.S. security over "the objections of few."

"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country," he said.

Bush brushed aside the embarrassing failure of U.S.-led forces to find the weapons of mass destruction, the main pretext for unleashing war on Iraq.

Tuning down his the explicit charges he made in last year's State of the Union, Bush said investigators had found evidence of "mass destruction-related program activities" and insisted that "we are seeking all the facts."

Since the fall of the Iraqi capital on April 9, U.S.-led team have failed to find a single evidence of the much-talked-about WMD.

Bush renewed his argument that "had we failed to act, the dictator's weapons of mass destruction programs would continue to this day," with veteran Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy shocking his head in disbelief.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi later countered that Bush "has pursued a go-it-alone foreign policy that leaves us isolated abroad and that steals the resources we need for education and health care here at home."

Bush said Washington was working with the U.S.-handpicked Iraqi interim Governing Council to draft laws, starting with a bill of rights, and hailed Council President Adnan Pachachi, who was present as Laura Bush's guest.

Some 500 U.S. troops have been killed there, roughly half since Bush announced the end of major combat in a May 1 speech, reported AFP.

"The work of building a new Iraq is hard, and it is right. And America has always been willing to do what it takes for what is right," said Bush.

He attempted to implicitly tied U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to Libya's surprise pledge last year to give up its unconventional arms programs after nine months of secret talks with the United States and Britain.

"One reason is clear: For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible. And no one can now doubt the word of America," he said.

"Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better."

Roadmap Ignored 

In his address, Bush failed to come up with any reference to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the U.S.-endorsed roadmap peace plan or reassert his support for creating a Palestinian state.

He only renewed his argument that democracy and prosperity in Iraq will transform the Middle East.

Bush announced that he was asking lawmakers to double funding for the National Endowment for Democracy in order to spend more than 40 million dollars on new projects in that region.

Terror Scare

Bush appealed to the American voters to re-elect him to pursue the U.S.-led war on terror.

"We face a choice. We can go forward with confidence and resolve, or we can turn back to the dangerous illusion that terrorists are not plotting and outlaw regimes are no threat to us."

"It is tempting to believe that the danger is behind us," Bush said, describing such hope as "understandable, comforting -- and false."

Recent polls have shown that the U.S. public is divided, trusting Bush more than Democrats when it comes to Iraq and fighting terrorism but believing that the opposition can do more on the economy and the health care crisis, according to AFP.

Bush's approval ratings slumped from their sky-high levels after the 9-11 attacks, amid growing skepticism about his domestic programs and concern about the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

Bush spoke a day after Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry snatched a come-back victory in the Iowa caucuses.

Republican strategists said Kerry could offer Bush a tougher fight for re-election than Iowa's third-place finisher, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, reported Reuters.