Bush speech- 'We will prevail in war, defeat this recession'

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Tuesday night that tens of thousands of terrorists still threaten America -- "ticking time bombs, set to go off" -- and promised to stalk them across the globe. In his first State of the Union address, he pledged a battle of equal vigor to revive the ailing economy.

"We will prevail in war, and we will defeat this recession," the commander in chief said, standing before Congress and the public with heroically high approval ratings.

Nearly five months after the Sept. 11 attacks that shocked America, Bush fleshed out his vision for the war on terrorism beyond Afghanistan -- to a dozen countries that he said harbor terrorists and "an axis of evil" of three more that seek weapons of mass destruction.

Bush entered the packed House chamber to boisterous applause from Republicans and Democrats alike. Seconds into his speech, he made a fist, and tapped it lightly against the podium as he declared that despite terrorism and recession, "the state of our union has never been stronger."

Democrats, responding to Bush, sought to show unity on the war while reinforcing differences on domestic policy.

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt's words for terrorists were similar to Bush's: "Make no mistake about it: We are going to hunt you down and make you pay." But he also challenged GOP positions on Social Security, taxes and health care.

In a 48-minute speech interrupted by applause more than 70 times, Bush urged Congress to pass his tax-cutting economic package and challenged Americans to commit two years or 4,000 hours to community service. He hopes to tap the surge in patriotism since the attacks.

"We can overcome evil with greater good," the president said.

Amid extraordinary security, leaders of the congressional, judicial and executive branches gathered beneath the same Capitol dome that officials believe was targeted during the attacks on Washington and New York.

Dick Cheney, who has spent many nights in undisclosed locations because of security precautions, took the vice president's traditional place on the rostrum behind the president during the speech.

In the gallery, first lady Laura Bush was joined by several guests in her VIP box high above the well of the House, including interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai and firefighters, soldiers and other citizen-heroes whose stories helped buoy a weary nation.

"The men and women of our armed forces have delivered a message to every enemy of the United States," Bush said. "You will not escape the justice of this nation."

Outlining his post-Afghanistan battle plans, the president vowed to unearth "a terrorist underworld" of training camps in a dozen countries, including the Philippines, Bosnia and Somalia. He said nations will be given a chance to wipe out terrorists themselves, and the United States is willing to assist their efforts.

But, he warned: "If they do not act, America will."

In his strongest terms yet, Bush called North Korea, Iraq and Iran part of an "axis of evil," warning that their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction pose a "grave and growing danger" and will not be tolerated.

"I will not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as peril draws closer and closer," Bush said. "The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."

80-percent approval

The nation's 43rd president addressed Americans with a degree of national unity conferred on no other chief executive since Franklin D. Roosevelt. In polls, more than 80 percent of Americans say they approve of his performance.

In the Democratic response, Gephardt mentioned Enron Corp., the Texas-based energy company linked to Bush that collapsed with the life savings of many workers.

Bush did not mention Enron, but asked Congress to enact pension reform and require more financial disclosure from companies. "Corporate America must be made more accountable to employees and shareholders and held to the highest standards of conduct," Bush said.

The measured response to Enron's collapse reflects concern in the White House that voters view Bush and Republicans as more sympathetic to big business than to average Americans.

In stark terms, the president said intelligence gathered during the rout of Taliban and al-Qaida forces in Afghanistan demonstrated the threat still facing America. He said the U.S. forces found diagrams of American nuclear power plants and public water facilities, detailed instructions for making chemical weapons, surveillance maps of U.S. cities and descriptions of landmarks.

"What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that -- far from ending there -- our war against terror is only beginning," the commander in chief said.

The 19 suicide hijackers who steered planes toward Washington and New York were a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of terrorists trained in Afghanistan, Bush said. White House officials said 100,000 terrorists were trained in Afghanistan since 1979. Some 15,000 al-Qaida fighters were trained in Afghanistan since the mid-1990s.

These terrorists "are now spread throughout the world like ticking time bombs -- set to go off without warning," Bush said.

$30 million a day

The U.S. military is spending $30 million a day to fight terrorism, and more is needed, Bush said. He asked Congress to increase Pentagon spending by nearly $50 billion.

He also proposed a doubling -- to $38 billion -- of spending on intelligence, military, border security, local emergency response programs and other homeland security activities.

Also in the audience as guests of Bush: Shannon Spann, the widow of CIA officer Johnny Michael Spann, who was killed in Afghanistan, and Christina Jones and Hermis Moutardier, flight attendants credited with thwarting the alleged shoe bomber.

Bush praised Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike for their support of the war, but jabbed at Democrats who are challenging his domestic agenda.

"Now Americans deserve to have this same spirit directed toward addressing the problems here at home," he said.

On domestic policy, Bush proposed expanding the national service program founded by former President Clinton to enlist Americans in community service, homeland defense and other community activities. The Peace Corps would double its volunteers in five years, under Bush's plan.

He conceded the federal budget will run a deficit for the first time in four years, but said it will be "small and short term" if Congress holds down spending.

He asked lawmakers to back his education, trade and tax policies to promote jobs, and embrace his welfare, health care, farm and environmental initiatives. With the address dominated by talk of war and recession, he offered no details on the policies.

Debating economic stimulus

Even as Bush prepared to make the several-block ride to the Capitol, the Senate debated economic stimulus legislation. As if to underscore difficulties ahead, the Dow Jones average tumbled nearly 250 points Tuesday on worries that more companies might be vulnerable to the kind of accounting scandals that brought down Enron.

American foreign policy would be reshaped to emphasize the "non-negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, respect for women, private property, free speech, equal justice and religious tolerance."

"No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them," Bush said.

Many U.S. allies fall short of the standards, including China and Russia, but aides said Bush realizes it will take time to shift deeply rooted attitudes.

"We have known freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power. And in this great conflict, my fellow Americans, we will see freedom's victory," Bush said.

To terrorists who thought they could bow America, the president said, "They were as wrong as they are evil."