Fort Stewart, Ga. ? President Bush saluted a sea of tan-clad soldiers from the division that notched some of the Iraq war’s main victories but also suffered stinging losses, telling them Friday they were helping America win the war on terror.

“We’re rolling back the terrorist threat, not on the fringes of its influence but at the heart of its power,” Bush said at the home of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. The division launched the ground invasion that began the Iraq war and led the charge into Baghdad to oust President Saddam Hussein.

A hot sun beat down on about 15,000 soldiers in desert fatigues and their family members, many toting newborns. But the heat did not wilt their enthusiasm for Bush, who spent a long day traveling to Georgia, Mississippi and Texas and back to Washington for a weekend at Camp David, Md.

In Georgia, Bush’s main focus was Iraq and the war on terror. He scarcely mentioned Saddam’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, which still haven’t been found even though they were the president’s primary rationale for war. Instead, he emphasized what he said was Iraq’s position as the central front in the global anti-terror battle, although the administration has not proven a link between Saddam’s regime and al-Qaida terrorists.

“We are destroying the terrorists by swift and decisive action,” Bush said. “As democracy and freedom rise in Iraq, their ambitions will fall just like the statues of Saddam Hussein.”

The White House, meanwhile, announced Bush would address the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 23.

Despite his failure to win a U.N. resolution authorizing the war, Bush is pushing for a resolution to build a multinational force to help U.S. troops with peacekeeping and to gain international help for Iraq’s reconstruction.

“It’s time for others to join us,” Bush said. “No free nation can be neutral in the fight between civilization and chaos.”

The president also acknowledged the 3rd Infantry’s sacrifices. The division and affiliated units lost the most people in Iraq — more than 40.

It also faced repeated duty extensions that frustrated loved ones. The 3rd Infantry had expected to head home in April, but the last of its 16,500 troops sent to Iraq returned home just this month.

President Bush greets soldiers of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Ga. Bush thanked them Friday for their service in Iraq and awarded them the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest award given to a military unit.