WEST POINT, New York - The United States' declared war on terror is closer to the beginning than the end, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday.

Rumsfeld told the 2004 graduating class of 935 cadets that in the three years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, the U.S.-led coalition had "overthrown two vicious regimes and liberated 50 million people, disrupted terrorist cells across the globe and thwarted many terrorist attacks."

"Yet despite our successes, we are closer to the beginning of this struggle with global insurgency than to its end," he said.

Rumsfeld addressed the graduates, who wore full dress uniforms at West Point's Michie Stadium football field, before heading back for Washington for the dedication of the World War II Memorial.

Rumsfeld said the world "has changed dramatically" since the Sept. 11 attacks when hijackers flew commercial airplanes into buildings in New York and Washington, killing nearly 3,000.

He said on the latest front, in Iraq where the Bush administration is facing continued fighting that is undermining efforts to end the U.S. occupation, "We are facing a test of wills, with an enemy that seeks to derail the Iraqi people's path to self-governance."

"The extremists know the rise of a free, self-governing Iraq, respectful of all religions - would deal the terrorists a decisive blow," Rumsfeld said. "Its success depends on encouraging friends and allies with whom we are so interdependent to not be terrorized by threats or isolated by fear."

© Copyright 2004 reuters Ltd

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