WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- President Bush slammed Iran and Syria Thursday as "helpers and enablers" of Islamic radicalism.
Islamic radicals, he said, were like parasites, feeding off the frustration of suffering of people and then building a culture of victimization in which violence is touted as the only answer.
"The influence of Islamic radicalism is also magnified by helpers and enablers," he said. "They have been sheltered by authoritarian regimes, allies of convenience like Syria and Iran, that share the goal of hurting America and moderate Muslim governments, and use terrorist propaganda to blame their own failures on the West and America and on the Jews.".
Bush, in a hard-hitting speech in Washington, said radicals depended on front operations, such as corrupted charities for funding, and were being aided by the Arab news media "that incite hatred and anti-Semitism, that feed conspiracy theories and speak of a so-called American 'war on Islam.'"
Iran has been accused of funneling money and operatives into southern Iraq to influence, if not control, its Shiite population.
The United States accuses Syria of not doing enough to stop terrorists from infiltrating and exfiltrating Iraq through Syria and also of supporting terrorists elsewhere.
