President's anniversary speech honors servicemembers

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WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  The president of the United States honored servicemembers during a speech at the Pentagon March 19 to mark the five-year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"We removed a tyrant," said President George W. Bush, "liberated a country and rescued millions from unspeakable horrors. Some of those troops are with us today. You need to know that the American people are proud of your accomplishment. So is the commander in chief."

Four Airmen were selected to attend the speech as special guests. Staff Sgt. Huey Harris III, from Dover Air Force Base, Del.; Tech. Sgt. Agustin Elias, from Andrews AFB, Md.; Capt. William White, from the Pentagon; and Maj. Patrick Ward, also from the Pentagon, were recognized for their individual accomplishments during various deployments.

President Bush spoke of what servicemembers faced when they first entered Iraq, saying the troops added new chapters to the story of American military heroism.

"Our troops engaged in battle with Saddam, death squads acting on the orders of Saddam Hussein that obeyed neither the conventions of war nor the dictates of conscience," he said. "These death squads hid in schools, in hospitals, hoping to draw fire against Iraqi civilians. They used women and children as human shields. They stopped at nothing in their efforts to prevent us from prevailing, but they couldn't stop the coalition."

He said that even though the war has stretched longer than most expected, and at a high cost, he is proud of what the men and women in uniform have done over there and sees a brighter future for Iraq.

"We will stay on the offense," he said. "Defeating the terrorists means changing their murderous ideology. There, we have another advantage with our military when it comes to finding the terrorists and bringing them to justice."

He closed his speech by reaffirming the commitment to stamping out terrorism around the world, especially in Iraq.

"The battle in Iraq is noble," he said. "It is necessary and it is just. With your courage, the battle in Iraq will end in victory." 

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