Bush Says Vise Closing on Saddam's Regime 
April 3, 2003 12:17 PM EST 
President Bush and Chief of Staff Andrew 
Card walk from the Oval Office , Thursday,
April 3, 2003, as they departed the White 
House for a day trip . Bush is headed to 
Camp Lejeune, N.C. to meet the families 
of Marines from the North Carolina base 
that has absorbed a large number of the 
U.S. war casualties.
(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)		 CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - President Bush, comforting grief-stricken family and friends of fallen Marines, praised U.S. troops Thursday for their two-week advance on Baghdad and said "a vise is closing" on Saddam Hussein's regime.

"What we have begun, we will finish," Bush told thousands of cheering Marines and their families. "We will not stop until Iraq is free." 

He spoke as U.S. Marines and infantry surged to within four miles of the capital city's gates, raising hopes that victory may be drawing near. Scores of blown-up Iraqi vehicles and dozens of dead bodies lined the roads where the Iraqis had built fighting positions. 

"Having traveled hundreds of miles, we will now go the last 200 yards," Bush said. He was not speaking literally, the White House said, but was instead evoking military lore that Marines stand alone in the final battles for the last bit of enemy ground. 

In his third appearance at a military installation since the war began last month, Bush chose the base hardest-hit by combat deaths. At least 13 of the Americans killed since the war started two weeks ago were from Camp Lejeune, N.C., and six more from that Marine Corps base are missing. 
Bush was meeting with five families of Marines lost in the 2-week-old war. 

"These were sacrifices in a high calling: the defense of our nation and the peace of the world," he said. 

No Marine died in vain, Bush said: "By our actions, we serve a great and just cause. We will remove weapons of mass destruction from the hands of mass murders. Free nations will not sit and wait, leaving enemies free to plot another Sept. 11, this time perhaps with chemical or biological or nuclear terror." 

"And by defending our own security, we are freeing the people of Iraq from one of the cruelest regimes on earth," he said. 

There was a moment of levity, when Bush opened his address by saying the crowd of Marines was a fine sight - "unless you happen to be a member of the Iraqi Republican Guard." 

In keeping with his custom during base visits, Bush walked the chow line with the troops. Marines stood bolt upright as he entered the cafeteria, and Bush tried to set them at ease, commanding: "Sit down, let's eat!" 

The outdoor venue for the speech - Goettge Memorial Field - was named in honor of Marines who have died in past conflicts. Throngs of people - many in camouflage fatigues and women pushing baby strollers - lined the sidewalks of the base before Bush's arrival. Flags bearing yellow ribbons fluttered from lamp posts. 

As Bush pledged the American-led force would prevail, a woman shouted: "Bombs away!" 

Another soldier said quietly, "You tell 'em, Bush." 

Thousands of camouflage-clad soldiers sat in a newly constructed arena under a cloudless sky. Thousands more spread across a field, some standing atop a tank to get a better view. 

Some military spouses at Camp Lejeune hope Bush will do more than offer encouragement. 

Bush took a Democrat - who wants his job - with him. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who is running for the White House, along with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., accompanied Bush here aboard Air Force One. Bush campaigned heavily for Dole last year. 

Edwards said he and Bush had a "good conversation about the progress of the war." Bush initiated it by visiting the two senators in their cabin on the plane. Asked whether politics came up, Edwards said, "Not really, no." 

Bush bristled last week when a reporter asked him how long the war will take. "However long it takes," the commander in chief answered. 

But that is precisely the question on the mind of Keri-Lee Johnson, a stay-at-home mother raising a 7-month-old, who wanted the president to tell her how long her husband will be away at war. Staff Sgt. Shawn Johnson left Feb. 7. 

His wife wants Bush's frank answer on how long the war will last - "not the standard 'It's going great' opinion," she said. 

Other spouses simply appreciate the gesture of support. 

Stephanie Gonzales said goodbye to her husband seven months ago. She and Cpl. Ramon Gonzales were middle school sweethearts in Fort Wayne, Ind. 

"I go through the complete array of emotions from being scared to being very proud, proud of who I am, proud of my husband, proud of my country," Gonzales said.