WASHINGTON, Jan 12: US President George W. Bush pledged on Wednesday to remain committed to the "war on terror" in his second term as well.

In an interview to The Washington Times, Mr. Bush also vowed to deploy US assets to destroy potential terror threats before they come and hurt us.

"I will remain firm and committed to fighting and winning the war on terror. We will deploy assets to defeat people before they come and hurt us," he declared. Mr Bush said the United States was engaged in a global war against an ism that can be defeated, and must be defeated.

He said that instead of waiting for the terrorists to strike US targets, he believed in finding them and bringing them to justice." That's why we need good intelligence, the capacity to move quickly, a military that understands the stakes and is preparing the troops to meet the challenges," he said.

But Mr Bush also emphasized that in the war against terrorism it was equally important to spread freedom because I know, and I believe that free societies will be peaceful societies.

He said the American president must use the great influence of his country to convince others to work for spreading freedom in parts of the world that have been denied freedom.