US President George W. Bush said Friday that the United States will overcome all difficulties and challenges including the hurricane disaster and terrorism.

The American people have "the spirit, the resources and the determination to overcome any challenge," he said, linking the killer storm which struck US Gulf Coast on Aug. 29 and the Sept. 11 terror attacks four years ago.

It is the first time Bush made parallels between the two events in public.

He noted that over 100 nations have offered help after the hurricane disaster, which he described as "a similar outpouring of support when another tragedy struck our nation" in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The remarks were made at the swearing-in ceremony for Karen Hughes, the US State Department's new undersecretary for public diplomacy, a post assigned to adorn the country's international image.

The White House announced earlier in the day that Bush will pay his third visit within a couple of days to areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina between Sept. 11 and 12.

Before the trip, the president will attend a church service and White House moment of silence marking the fourth anniversary on Sunday of the Sept. 11 attacks.

His Saturday weekly radio address will also focus on both events and the government's response to them.

Source: Xinhua