Five years have come and gone since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks shook the nation. On Monday night, President Bush addressed the country and — surprise, surprise — continued to recommend we stay the course.

Bush's speech writers earned their check and at least used different wording — "we're adapting to stay ahead of the enemy, and we are carrying out a clear plan to ensure that a democratic Iraq succeeds."

But the message is still as muddled as ever.

In 17 minutes of patting himself and his cronies on the back for their progress in helping a country now "stepping forward to claim their freedom," Bush spends one measly paragraph — barely six sentences — focused on the tremendous loss felt by all Americans on the day the twin towers crumbled, the Pentagon was hit, a plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field. And more than 2,000 people lost their lives.

And although Bush admitted that there is, in fact, no direct link to Saddam Hussein and the terrorist attacks, he depicted the battle in Iraq as the vital piece of a puzzle to ensure a safe world for all.

Still, Bush only alludes to other mistakes and pushes the we-must-stay mentality — "Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone."

His speech, like the recent one from Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, is insulting to the many Americans who see clearly that before the war in Iraq, there were no terrorists in the country linked to al-Qaida or Osama bin Laden.

Saddam might have given money to Palestinian families of suicide bombers, but he was absolutely not responsible for the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and, as we all are embarrassingly aware of now, there were no weapons of mass destruction.

His message is nothing new: Be scared and keep fighting the war in Iraq or terrorists will get you. The American public should be able to recognize this crystal-clear Bush tactic by now. He continues to repeat it, and eventually you should believe it. But don't let him sway you — his war on terror is a fight against an ideology of hatred. You don't win a battle of ideas with guns and armor-plated vehicles.

But at least Bush tells us partially what we want to hear and acknowledges the dwindling support of the war. "America did not ask for this war, and every American wishes it were over. So do I," he said.

And if we're really meant to believe that, Bush needs to do something more than give speeches defending the war in Iraq — he needs to end it.