Bush urges resolve in war on terror, cites Cold War

WEST POINT, N.Y., May 27 (Reuters) President George W Bush urged resolve in the struggle against Islamic radicalism today and likened the ''war on terror'' to the fight against communism after World War Two.

Addressing graduates of the West Point military academy, Bush described his goal of spreading freedom throughout the Middle East, saying repression in those countries was creating the conditions for global terrorism.

''We're still in the early stages of this struggle for freedom and, like those first years of the Cold War, we've seen setbacks and challenges and days that have tested America's resolve yet we've also seen days of victory and hope,'' Bush said.

''The war began on my watch but it's going to end on your watch,'' Bush told the cadets.

The speech marked a return for Bush to a lofty theme of spreading global democracy and contrasted with his contrite tone at a Thursday news conference in which he acknowledged mistakes on Iraq.

But he also strove for solemnity on Memorial Day weekend, a time when America honors its war dead.

''We have made clear that the war on terror is an ideological struggle between tyranny and freedom,'' Bush said. ''Our strategy to protect America is based on a clear premise: the security of our nation depends on the advance of liberty in other nations.

''We learned an important lesson. Decades of excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe.'' Bush mentioned Syria and Iran specifically in vowing to pursue an end to repression in countries around the world.

''The message has spread from Damascus to Tehran that the future belongs to freedom and we will not rest until the promise of liberty reaches every people in every nation,'' Bush said.

Bush, who has seen his approval ratings slide to record lows in large part because of the Iraq war, invoked the legacy of another wartime president, Democrat Harry Truman.

He recalled the Korean War as part of a difficult period in the Cold War and said America's perseverance then helped lead to victory against communism decades later when the Soviet Union fell.

''We are again engaged in a war unlike any our nation has fought before and, like Americans in Truman's day, we are laying the foundations for victory,'' Bush said.

Truman's popularity fell even lower than Bush's -- which hovers in the low 30 percent range with 2 1/2 years left in office -- yet he has been remembered favorably in history.

As is the tradition at graduation ceremonies, Bush offered some advice to the cadets: ''Take risks, try new things and challenge the established way of doing things. Trust in your convictions and stay true to yourselves and one day the world will celebrate your achievements.'' REUTERS CH RAI2153