LAS VEGAS – President Bush defended the war in Iraq to a convention of National Guard officers Tuesday, acknowledging the turmoil it has brought them, their families and many of their employers.

He did not acknowledge the controversy that has engulfed his own stint in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

In a half-hour speech in a huge exhibition hall just off this city’s glittering gambling strip, Bush made only a passing reference to his military service, drawing one of many standing ovations.

“Nineteen individuals have served both in the Guard and as president of the United States,” he said, naming Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman, among others, “and I am proud to be one of them.”

The president’s appearance before the National Guard Association had taken on added political dimensions even before he arrived, brought on in part by the changing role of the Guard and by the questions about his service more than 30 years ago.

With the nation at war against terrorism, Guard troops are no longer just weekend warriors called to duty occasionally to deal with a hurricane or other natural disasters. Now, they are routinely on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, or on increased security patrols at home.

Call-ups are up and deployments have been extended, causing hardships at home and at work.

“You’re fighting terrorist enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan and across the globe, so we do not have to face them here at home,” Bush said. “America is safer because of your service.”

The president said he decided to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein, who’s now jailed in Iraq awaiting trial, was a threat.

“Do I forget the lessons of Sept. 11 and take the word of a madman, or take action to defend America?” Bush asked. “Given that choice, I will defend America every time.

“Despite ongoing violence in Iraq,” he added, “that country now has a strong prime minister, a national council and national elections are scheduled for January. The world is changing for the better.”

In a stinging rebuttal, though, Democratic challenger John Kerry charged that the president was distorting the situation in Iraq.

“Things are getting worse,” Kerry said. “More than a thousand Americans have been killed. Instability is rising. Violence is spreading. Extremism is growing. There are now havens for terrorists that weren’t there before.”

The Massachusetts senator, who was a decorated Navy swift boat officer in Vietnam, has been criticized by some fellow veterans who charge that he has lied about his service record. And Bush is embroiled in new accusations that he got into the Guard only because of his father’s political clout and that he never fulfilled his commitments.

But Vince Mirabella, a 42-year-old member of the Delaware Army National Guard, said the flaps over both candidates’ military service were overblown and should have little bearing on their race for the White House.

“Bush was in the National Guard. He served,” Mirabella said. “Kerry was in the Navy. He served as well.”

The authenticity of some new documents about Bush’s National Guard service, cited last week by CBS News, is being questioned by some experts, igniting yet another barrage of charges and countercharges.

In Washington on Tuesday, Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe previewed a new “Operation Fortune Son” video, to be posted on the party’s Web site and played in key battleground states, challenging Bush to “come clean” about his service.

Bush, who has not taken questions recently from the White House reporters who travel with him, has not addressed the new controversy. His aides, though, have been besieged with questions and have tried to deflect them as old news stirred up by a desperate opponent.

“Democrats and the Kerry campaign are orchestrating these recycled attacks because he is falling behind in the polls,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

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AP-NY-09-14-04 1841EDT