With six sentences began with "because we acted", Bush bragged about how the war "benefited" Iraqi people by ending Saddam's regime.

He also cited declining "Iraqi civilian death, sectarian killings and attacks on the US troops," capture or killing of thousands of extremists and expansion of Iraqi security forces as the military progress achieved by the Operation Freedom in Iraq.

"To ensure that military progress in Iraq is quickly followed up with real improvements in daily life, we have doubled the number of provincial reconstruction teams in Iraq," he added.

US President George W. Bush defended on Wednesday the Iraq war as a "right decision" at the pentagon despite a high cost as thousands of Americans staged anti-war demonstrations across the nation to mark the war's fifth anniversary. (Xinhua Photo)