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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Comparing the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Cold War, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Friday told University of Utah graduates that President Bush acted with political courage and faith when his leadership was needed most.
Ridge, the commencement keynote speaker, reminded the 7,400 graduates and their friends and families of the attacks of two and a half years ago and vowed to "meet the treat of terrorism, in the fullest throttle of response, wherever it seeks to hide -- on foreign soil or on our own."
Ridge said the Homeland Security Department has added layers of protection against terror since the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., and that the nation's actions "must be measured by the threshold of excellence and ethics and guided by priority and balance."
While he didn't speak directly of the federal Patriot Act, Ridge said the nation and its leaders must take care to respect people's privacy and civil liberties.
"To suggest that there is a trade-off between security and individual freedoms -- that we must discard one protection for another -- to me is a false choice," he said. "You do not defend liberty to forsake it."
Ridge made no mention during his address of the brutal abuse and sexual humiliation of Iraqi captives at Abu Ghraib prison and the photographs that have prompted worldwide revulsion and further damage to America's image overseas.
Afterward, he declined to speak directly to questions about the prisoner abuse. He said Iraq and Saddam Hussein had subjected prisoners to mistreatment, but quickly added, "This doesn't excuse ours."
Asked if he believed America was winning the so-called war on terrorism, Ridge said the nation was making progress but needed a sustained commitment to continue its anti-terror efforts.
University spokeswoman Ann Bardsley said former University of Utah president Bernard Machen, now president of the University of Florida, in November invited Ridge to speak at the morning commencement, where Ridge received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Natalie Whiting, who received her B.A. in English, said she thought Ridge's address was "wonderful" because he inspired graduates to "integrate themselves more in the country."
Toby Wade, who received his MA in statistics, said Ridge "has done some great things in terms of protecting the airports and the Patriot Act."
But Dave Tada, whose degree is in economics, said he disagreed with much of what Ridge said about Bush's leadership after the terror attacks. Calling himself anti-war, Tada said he thought much of what Bush has done wasn't necessary and has caused "unsavory attitudes toward anyone of Middle Eastern descent."
After receiving her B.S. in early childhood development, Vicky Hansen said she and her colleagues were talking about Ridge's speech. "We thought it was like damage control for the president, with all the controversy going on now," she said. Still, Hansen agreed with Ridge that Bush showed strong leadership after the attacks.
Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and their wives have chosen mostly re-election battleground states for commencement speeches this spring while maintaining the tradition of addressing military schools.
Bush gives his first commencement address May 14 at Concordia University in Mequon, Wis. Bush also will address Louisiana State University May 21 and the U.S. Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo., on June 2.
Cheney will speak to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., on May 19. He spoke at Florida State University a week ago. That same day, first lady Laura Bush gives a commencement speech at Miami-Dade College and the vice president's wife, Lynne Cheney, spoke to graduates at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.
At Florida State, the vice president steered clear of politics in his address.
Last month he was criticized for turning a Fulton, Mo., Westminster College appearance into a speech that questioned whether presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry was fit to serve as president during wartime. College President Fletcher Lamkin, citing a desire for fairness, then invited Kerry to speak at the college. Neither address was a commencement speech.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
