President Bush has warned that Iraq could become a country controlled by terrorists willing to use oil as a weapon if the United States leaves the country.
"Leaving before we complete our mission would create a terrorist state in the heart of the Middle East, a country with huge oil reserves that the terrorist network would be willing to use to extract economic pain from those of us who believe in freedom," Mr Bush said.
Mr Bush was responding to Democrat calls to start pulling US troops out of Iraq this year while not specifying a time frame for completing the withdrawal.
"The longer we are bogged down in Iraq under the president's failed stay-the-course policy, the less safe our nation becomes," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in response to Mr Bush's comments.
"We need a new direction. We need to refocus our attention on destroying the enemy that attacked us five years ago, protecting America, and rebuilding our military," said Mr Reid, a Nevada Democrat.
Mr Bush's popularity ratings are near the lowest of his presidency due largely to dissatisfaction over Iraq.
In last night's address, his first stump speech of the congressional election, he showed how he plans to reject Democrats who consider the Iraq war a failed policy.
"They want us to cut and run and there are some good people in our country who believe we should cut and run. They are not bad people when they say that, they are decent people, I just happen to believe they are wrong," Mr Bush said.
"This would be a defeat for the United States in a key battleground in the global war on terror.
"If we were to leave before the mission is complete, it would hurt US credibility. Who would want to stand with the United States of America if we didn't complete the mission in a mission that can be completed, and will be completed?"
"If we leave before the mission is complete, if we withdraw, the enemy will follow us home," he added.