U.S. Vows to Keep Up War on Terror

A tearful President Bush, speaking to a crowd that included the families of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan this week, vowed Friday that the United States would remain “relentless and determined” in fighting terrorists.

“So long as I’m president, we’re going to be after them, without blinking,” he said, while cautioning that more American troops might die in the effort.

Bush came to St. Petersburg to promote his ideas for post-Enron corporate responsibility, to praise the economic stimulus bill that cleared Congress on Friday and to pitch his proposals for volunteerism.

But as he usually does in his public appearances, he first discussed the war on terrorism. He noted that his audience included relatives of Army Spc. Marc A. Anderson, 30, and Army Sgt. Bradley S. Crose, 22, two of the seven Americans killed in intense fighting Monday in eastern Afghanistan.

Visibly moved and fighting back tears, Bush told the relatives: “I know your heart aches, and we ache for you.” But he said the men “died for a noble and just cause.”

The audience responded with a standing ovation.

“I hate it, to know that young soldiers are at risk,” the president said. “But I want to assure you and all those loved ones whose sons and daughters are at risk, that not only is the cause just and important and noble, but our United States government will provide the United States military with whatever it needs to win this war against terror.”

Bush is known by his friends to easily show his emotions in private. But until Friday, he had avoided emotional displays about U.S. military casualties in the war on terrorism.

Thirteen Americans have been killed in combat or other hostile situations during the war in Afghanistan. Fifteen Americans have died in military aircraft crashes or while working in support of the war.

Referring to the fighting that broke out last weekend against an enclave of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, Bush said: “We found a bunch of Al Qaeda killers recently, bunched up in Afghanistan. And our military went after them, and we’re making good progress. It is a sign of what’s going to happen for a while. . . . And we will take loss of life, and I’m sad for loss of life.”

Bush also noted that Monday will mark six months since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people.

Administration officials said 1,300 people had been invited to the White House for an event commemorating the date, including members of Congress, foreign ambassadors and relatives of victims of the attacks.

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will welcome military leaders of countries that have helped in the war on terrorism. And in London, Vice President Dick Cheney will join British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a ceremony commemorating people from other nations who died in the attacks.

Bush’s trip to Florida included a stop at a fund-raiser for the state Republican Party. The president was the keynote speaker at a lunch expected to raise $500,000, part of which will be used to help the reelection campaign of his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush.

In his remarks, the president took an obvious swipe at Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who sparked controversy last week when he said the war in Afghanistan could not be considered a success if the United States failed to find Osama bin Laden.

“Those who are preoccupied with one individual do not understand the struggle,” Bush said. “We fight terror wherever terrorism exists, and those people who say one person matters, they elevate that person to a status he does not deserve.”

The trip was Bush’s eighth to Florida since he won the presidency--a victory that was in dispute until a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court tilted the state into his column.

“I told Jeb I’ll do anything he wants me to do to get him elected,” the president said. “If he wants me down here, I’m coming back.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.