DATE=06/01/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BUSH/TERRORISM (S)

NUMBER=2-290408

BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS

DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: President Bush says terrorists are planning more attacks against the United States, and he is vowing to stop them before they strike. The president spoke Saturday during graduation ceremonies at the U-S military academy at West Point. V-O-A's Scott Stearns reports.

TEXT: President Bush told the next generation of American soldiers to be ready for pre-emptive strikes against what he calls "terrorists and tyrants," because those responsible for the September 11th attacks are planning more violence.

If the nation waits for those threats to fully materialize, Mr. Bush says, America will have waited too long.

/// BUSH ACT ///

The war on terror will not be won on the defensive. We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans and confront the worst threats before they emerge.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Bush says U-S forces are fighting for more than national defense. They are fighting for what he calls a "just peace" that "favors human liberty."

Without mentioning specific countries, the president says people in the Islamic world want and deserve the same freedoms and opportunities as people in every nation. He says Islamic governments should listen to their hopes, as there is no clash of civilization when it comes to what he calls "the common rights of men and women." (SIGNED)

NEB/SKS/TW