President George W. Bush is starting another series of speeches to counter opposition to the conflict in Iraq, Americans impatience with the rising U.S. death toll there, and anxiety about possible terrorist attacks, the White House said Wednesday. Bush will deliver the first speech Thursday to the annual American Legion convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. The appearances will continue through the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks and end on September 19, when Bush addresses the U.N. Security Council. White House deputy spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush would use the speeches to asses the battle against terrorism, outline the capabilities of al Qaida and other terrorist groups, and remind Americans of steps his administration has taken to protect the country. It is the third time in less than a year that Bush has launched a series of speeches on Iraq and terrorism. They are coming at a time when his approval rate is just above 30 percent. At the American Legion annual meeting, the president will put the violence that Americans are seeing on their TV screens and reading in their news papers into a larger context, Perino told reporters traveling with Bush to Little Rock, Arkansas for a political event. He will acknowledge that these are unsettling times in Iraq, in Lebanon, and the unsettling news about a foiled terror plot out of London. Bush will assert that all the violence and threats are part of a single ideological struggle between moderation and extremism. He also is expected to provide an update on the security situation in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, but is not expected to discuss U.S. troop levels.
