WASHINGTON, Aug 5: US President George Bush told a roomful of top Pentagon brass on Thursday that his administration would never stop looking for ways to harm the United States.

The latest instalment of misspeak from a president long known for his malapropisms came during a signing ceremony for a new 417 billion dollars defence appropriations bill.

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we," Mr Bush said.

On hand for the ceremony were Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Gen Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. -Reuters