Bush: Iraq is 'struggle of the century' - U.S. President George Bush said the war in Iraq is the lynch...

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said the war in Iraq is the lynchpin in the war on terror, and told CBS it is the 'ideological struggle of the 21st century.'

The president made the remarks in a CBS Evening News interview in the run-up to the anniversary of the al-Qaida terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and suggested citizens of the United States didn't have a grasp on the severity of the threat.

'The American people have got to understand that a defeat in Iraq -- in other words, if this government there fails, the terrorists will be emboldened, the radicals will topple moderate governments,' he said. 'I truly believe this is the ideological struggle of the 21st century.'

Bush said the ruthlessness shown five years was also evident in Iraq.

'We're facing an enemy ... that just doesn't care about innocent life. I mean, they really are evil people,' he said. 'I do think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror and so does Osama bin Laden.