Bush on high-profile visit to counterterrorism hub

MCLEAN, Va., Aug 15 (Reuters) Buoyed by a poll backing him on security, President George W Bush paid a visit to the US hub for counterterrorism today and seized on a foiled bomb plot as proof the fight was far from over.

Bush made the high-profile visit to the National Counterterrorism Center in suburban Washington at a time when both his Republicans and rival Democrats hope to make national security a winning issue in November congressional elections.

In a Newsweek poll after British authorities foiled a plot last week to blow up US-bound planes, 55 per cent of Americans voiced approval of Bush's handling of terrorism and homeland security, a jump of 11 percentage points from May.

''And that plot is, and this building, and the work going on here is really indicative of the challenge we face, not only this week, but this year and the years to come, because the United States of America is engaged in a war against an extremist group of folks, bound together by an ideology, willing to use terror to achieve their objectives,'' Bush said.

Bush was applauded by workers in the Operation Center, where intelligence is monitored around-the-clock to detect threats. The United States established the center as part of the post-Sept. 11 intelligence reforms.

Democrats accuse Republicans of using the airliner plot to political advantage ahead of elections in which Republican control of both houses in Congress could be in jeopardy.

''During the 2002 and 2004 elections, Republicans tried to sow fear in the American public by claiming that they were the only ones who could keep America safe,'' Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in an email statement to supporters.

''This, from the same crowd that has driven Iraq to the brink of disaster, left Osama bin Laden on the loose to attack again and continues to ignore our security needs at home,'' Reid said in the statement.

He added: ''Ask any foreign policy pro, and they'll tell you we're less safe now than we were five years ago -- and that the Bush crowd is largely responsible.'' Bush said America was safer than it had been but not yet safe.

''Our most solemn duty in the federal government is to protect the American people and I will assure the American people that we're doing everything in our power to protect them,'' he said.

Democrats hope to make the election a referendum on the Iraq war.

''Changing course in Iraq can happen only if we change Congress,'' said Massachusetts Democratic Sen Edward Kennedy.

REUTERS SP RAI2339