Speaking to military officers at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Bush said that "the struggle against terror will be a generational conflict."

Bush hailed successes in the campaign against terrorism since his administration launched the war on terror following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.

Justifying the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush said, "Around the world, we're driving the terrorists from their safe havens. We are choking off their financing. We are severely disrupting their operations."

"Together with our allies, we've killed or captured hundreds of Al-Qaeda leaders and operatives, including the architect of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed."

Bush has long and strongly been defending his anti-terrorism policy. "Within weeks of September 11 (of 2001), our armed forces began taking the fight to the terrorists around the world," the soon-to-be former US president said last week when he visited the US Military Academy at West Point.