President Bush cited successes in the war on terror, saying that cooperation between nations led by the U.S. helped prevent at least 10 planned attacks by al-Qaeda since September 11 including a planned terror strike against Los Angeles.
According to Bush, al-Qaeda terrorists had planned to crash a commercial airliner into the largest building in Los Angeles, the U.S. Bank Tower, some time in 2002.
Other alleged attacks the president claims to have helped prevent include the Jose Padilla 'dirty bomb' plot, planned attacks on Heathrow Airport in London and plans to attack the Strait of Hormuz which is the opening to the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean.
The federal government first gave details of these planned al-Qaeda attacks in October 2005.
Speaking to the National Guard Association in Washington, D.C., Bush tried to reinforce fear of terror attacks while maintaining that his administration continues to work to protect Americans.
'We cannot let the fact that America hadn't been attacked in four and a half years, since September the 11th, lull us into an illusion that the threats to our nation have disappeared. The terrorists are weakened and fractured. Yet they're still lethal,' the president said.
