On Tour, Bush Rallies Troops

President Bush rallied U.S. troops here Friday and then viewed a deafening, action-packed tactical demonstration by Special Forces at nearby Ft. Bragg, home to units deployed in Afghanistan and elsewhere in Central Asia.

Bush used his visit--the latest of several he has made to military bases since the war on terrorism began--to urge support for his defense spending request. The House faces a key vote next week on the federal budget, which includes Bush’s proposal for the largest hike in money for the Pentagon in two decades.

The presidential visit also came just a week after a Ft. Bragg soldier and an airman from adjacent Pope Air Force Base were killed in action in Afghanistan.

Bush met privately with the widows of Army Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman and Air Force Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman, and then reported that the women had told him: “Don’t falter.”

The president added:

“These people just lost a loved one, and they’re just as resolved about winning this war on terror as I am. And I was very impressed by their steadfast support for what we’re doing and their understanding of the sacrifices necessary to defend freedom.”

At Ft. Bragg, Bush watched a simulated hostage rescue by Special Forces. The training exercise took place on a movie-like set in a fictional developing nation, dubbed “Pineland.”

The scenario included several dozen soldiers posing as a mob of anti-American street demonstrators. Upon Bush’s arrival in a third-story observation deck, they began chanting: “U.S.A. go home!” Some shook their fists at the commander in chief. Bush responded with a chuckle.

The simulation also included attack helicopters depositing troops onto rooftops and the ground to rescue imaginary hostages in a cinder-block building dubbed a U.S. Embassy.

Although the soldiers fired blanks in their assault rifles, they detonated real stun grenades after they knocked down a door and burst into the building, moving quickly from room to room and floor to floor.

The president also saw several participants “shot dead” and placed in the muddy street, as well as a separate demonstration of an airplane refueling two copters.

Throughout the exercise, which lasted more than an hour, Bush wore ear and eye protectors and watched from behind a thick, plastic pane on a rooftop.

“That was exciting,” he said afterward. “I think we’re well trained. I’m glad they’re on my side.”

Before leaving, Bush ate a lasagna lunch with military personnel at Ft. Bragg--the country’s largest Army post, with about 42,000 soldiers, and home of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Special Operations command.

In earlier remarks to an estimated 4,000 soldiers, their families and local residents at the Cumberland County Coliseum, Bush called on Congress to adopt the defense budget “as the first order of business--so we can plan for this war.”

Bush has proposed increasing defense spending by $48 billion, to $379 billion. The House will vote next week on the annual budget resolution, which sets overall spending and revenue targets for various categories of federal activities, such as defense. Bush’s request for the Pentagon should pass in the GOP-controlled House but could run into problems in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The president received a thunderous welcome from the flag-waving crowd jammed into the local arena, and he was quick to return the admiration, calling the gathered troops “the world’s finest fighting soldiers.”

The audience erupted in cheers and applause as Bush noted that his proposed defense budget contains a new round of pay raises for the military.

“The price of freedom is high. But it’s never too high as far as I’m concerned,” Bush said.

He reiterated his commitment to pursue the war on terrorism as it enters what he has called its second stage.

Bush described the new phase as “a sustained campaign, a tireless, relentless campaign, to deny sanctuary, to deny safe haven to terrorists who would threaten citizens anywhere in the world, threaten our way of life, threaten our friends, threaten our allies.”

Repeatedly interrupted by ovations, Bush vowed: “We will not slow down until the threat of global terrorism has been destroyed.”

The president also stressed anew his determination to take the military campaign to nations beyond Afghanistan that pose a potential threat with weapons of mass destruction.

“I have made it clear that we will not let the most dangerous regimes in the world team up with killers and, therefore, hold this great nation hostage.

“Whatever it takes to defend the liberty of America, this administration will do.”