WASHINGTON, Aug 30: US President George Bush defended his decision to topple Saddam Hussein in an interview broadcast on Monday and said success for the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq will mark the "beginning of the end for extremists".

"When Iraq emerges as a free society, the people will see the wisdom of the decision we made," Bush told NBC television's "Today" show. "When they see a free Afghanistan and Iraq emerge, they will understand why we made these decisions," he said in the interview aired to coincide with the opening of his Republican Party's national convention Monday in New York.

"The decision in Iraq was a hard decision," Bush continued. "No doubt in my mind we made the right decision. No doubt in my mind the world is better off with Saddam Hussein in a prison cell."

Asked whether the United States can win the war on terror, Bush said: "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world."

"I don't have a definite end (for the war on terror)," the president continued. "But I want to make sure your kids can grow up in a peaceful world. If (you) believe you can't win, the alternative is to retreat.

"We cannot show weakness in this world today, because the enemy will exploit that weakness," Bush said. "It will embolden them and make the world a more dangerous place.

"The country must never yield, never show weakness, and must continue to lead to find the Al-Qaeda affiliates who are hiding around the world and who want to harm us, and bring them to justice," Bush said. The president said he had never considered what it might have been like to govern without the specter of terror looming in the background. -AFP