WASHINGTON, March 8: President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that Pakistan had made the United States "more secure" by arresting more than 100 extremists across the country.

In a speech the White House described as an update on the war on terrorism, President Bush said repressive conditions in the Middle East gave rise to extremism. But he also said that he saw "hopeful signs" across the Muslim world. The 'authoritarian rule in the Middle East' and other parts of the Muslim world, said Mr Bush, were "the last gasp of a discredited past."

Mr Bush demanded anew that Syria pull its troops out of Lebanon and allow free elections. "All Syrian military forces and intelligence personnel must withdraw before the Lebanese elections for these elections to be free and fair."

In his speech, delivered at the National Defence University, Washington, Mr Bush said his successful campaign for forcing a Syrian withdrawal will bring freedom to Lebanon. "Freedom will prevail in Lebanon. The American people are on your side," he told the Lebanese people.

"The advance of hope in the Middle East requires new thinking in the region," the president said. "By now it should be clear that authoritarian rule is not the wave of the future. It is the last gasp of a discredited past."

Mr Bush said the entire world has "an urgent interest in the progress and hope and freedom in the broader Middle East," in which he also includes Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Our duty is now clear," he said. "For the sake of our long-term security, all free nations must stand with the forces of democracy and justice that have begun to transform the Middle East."

Pakistan was among the few nations that he praised for its leading role in the fight against terrorism. "We're more secure because Pakistani forces captured more than 100 extremists across the country last year, including operatives who were plotting attacks against the United States," he said.

Mr Bush said Britain had arrested an Al Qaeda operative who had provided detailed reports on possible American targets to senior Al Qaeda leaders. Mr Bush also cited efforts by Germany, the Philippines and Poland for catching Al Qaeda suspects.

"In three and a half years, the United States and our allies have waged a campaign of global scale - from the mountains of Afghanistan, to the border regions of Pakistan, to the Horn of Africa, to the islands of the Philippines, to the plains of North Central Iraq." Mr Bush said the Al Qaeda terror network that attacked the US still has leaders, but many of its top commanders had been removed.