Bush used his weekly radio address to argue that the war in Iraq will keep Americans safe for generations to come, a point he probably will try to drive home with a speech Monday morning before the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Salt Lake City.

''Our troops know that they're fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere to protect their fellow Americans from a savage enemy,'' the president said, according to a transcript provided by the White House.

Bush is trying to bolster support for the war among an increasingly skeptical public. According to recent polls, fewer than 40 percent of Americans approve of his handling of the war in Iraq.

Dozens of the disillusioned Americans remain outside his Texas ranch, inspired by Cindy Sheehan, a California mother who had been camping there while seeking a meeting with the president to ask why her soldier son, Casey, had to die in what she calls a senseless war.

Republican Party leaders are worried that the so-called Peace Mom has brought long-simmering unease over Iraq to a boil. They fear that protests will strike a chord with the large number of Americans who have long felt uneasy about the war yet have been giving Bush the benefit of the doubt.

Crowds of protesters also are expected to gather Monday in Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City - three blocks from the Bush speech - including Mayor Rocky Anderson, who last week urged citizen activists to stage a large demonstration over a variety of issues.

In his address, Bush mentioned his speeches Monday in Salt Lake City and Wednesday in Idaho.

"Next week, in Utah, I will also address the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention and thank the proud veterans who have given today's troops such a noble example of devotion and courage," the president said.

Meanwhile, the Army's top general said Saturday the Army is planning for the possibility of keeping the current number of soldiers in Iraq - about 138,000 - for four more years.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker said the Army is prepared for the ''worst case'' in terms of the required level of troops in Iraq. He said the number could be adjusted lower if called for by slowing the force rotation or by shortening tours for soldiers.

In the Democrats' radio address, former Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia ticked off numbers indicating this war's toll - nearly 2,000 service members killed, more than 15,000 wounded and some soldiers returning for their third tour.

"We need a strategy to win in Iraq or an exit strategy to leave,'' said Cleland. ''The present course will lead us to disaster. More of the same just means more precious blood spilled in the desert.''

Vice President Dick Cheney began the administration offensive on Thursday, declaring the United States ''will not relent'' in the war in Iraq and will hunt down insurgents there ''one at a time if necessary.''

Cheney said in a speech in Springfield, Mo., to veterans who have received the military's Order of the Purple Heart that the military sacrifices are necessary as the United States tries to establish free societies.

''We have no illusions about the difficulty of engaging enemies that recognize neither the laws of warfare nor standards of morality,'' he said. ''We will not relent in this effort, because we have the clearest possible understanding of what is at stake.''

As Bush has before when he has been challenged, the president in his radio address invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In the Democratic address, Cleland also brought up the Sept. 11 attacks - to remind Americans that al-Qaida terror group leader Osama bin Laden has yet to be captured.