George W. Bush's Second Term As President of The United States - Fifth Anniversary of The 9/11 Attacks

Fifth Anniversary of The 9/11 Attacks

Bush launched a public relations campaign prior to the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on American soil. In a series of speeches, President Bush spoke more openly about his the American interrogation program, touted progress in the War on Terror, declared the Iraq War central to it, and shifted Bush's rhetoric from portraying the Iraq War as the cornerstone of a transformational change to democracy in the Middle East to the battleground in a broader global conflict with Islamic extremism comparable to the fight against Nazi fascism in World War II.

On September 11, 2006, the United States and relatives of the victims commemorated the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on American soil. President Bush visited the sites of the attacks, laying a wreath with First Lady Laura Bush at the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania in which United Flight 93 crashed. Bush later that day delivered a prime-time speech from the Oval Office, proclaiming the War on Terror the "ideological struggle of the 21st century and the calling of our generation" and a "struggle for civilization." While conceding the misconceived link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, supported by the conclusion of a U.S. Senate report released on September 8, he said Hussein's regime posed a "clear threat" that justified a war that he said has made the world safer. Bush was resolute that changing direction in Iraq would be tantamount to giving in to terrorists like Osama bin Laden whom he said sees the Iraq War as "The Third World War".