The verdict was delivered as George Bush made the latest in a series of speeches designed to re-focus voters’ minds on national security before crucial mid-term elections in November.

He used the terrorists’ words to demonstrate the insights that he had gained into the “evil but not insane” ideology of an uncompromising enemy.

In a speech in Washington, Mr Bush said that Osama bin Laden had called on his followers to target the American economy and the media to undermine the public’s will to win by “driving a wedge between the American people and its Government”. He said that he would no more ignore bin Laden’s words than the world ignored those of Hitler.

Mr Bush also warned Iran over its nuclear ambitions. “I am not going to allow this to happen,” he said.

The White House outlined its counter-terrorism strategy in a 23-page report released yesterday. The report says that significant progress had been made against a “degraded but still dangerous al-Qaeda network” but states: “The enemy we face today in the War on Terror is not the same enemy we faced on September 11. Our effective counter-terrorist efforts in part have forced the terrorists to evolve.”

The report acknowledges that the United States is still not immune from attack and makes plain that the War on Terror will be a long one. It also says that terrorism “is not simply a result of hostility to US policy in Iraq”.

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