Trump used his 9/11 speech to threaten terrorists with force even greater than 'nuclear power' if they attack the US again

Al Drago/Reuters

President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony marking the 18th anniversary of September 11 attacks at the Pentagon.

• President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested terrorists would face force even greater than "nuclear power" if they attack the US. 
• During a speech commemorating the 9/11 terror attacks at the Pentagon, Trump said, "If for any reason they come back to our country, we will go wherever they are and use power the likes of which the US has never used before and I'm not even talking about nuclear power."
• The speech came a day after Trump dismissed his national security adviser, and as his administration faces scrutiny over the chaos surrounding its foreign policy.
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday delivered a speech at the Pentagon to commemorate the 9/11 terror attacks and during it threatened terrorists with force "the likes of which the US has never used before."

Trump suggested that if any terror group attacked the US they would face a US military response more destructive and impactful than the use of "nuclear power." 

"We do not seek conflict. But if anyone dares to strike our land, we will respond with the full measure of American power and the iron will of the American spirit and that spirit is unbreakable," Trump said. "If for any reason they come back to our country, we will go wherever they are and use power the likes of which the US has never used before and I'm not even talking about nuclear power."

"They will never have seen anything like what will happen to them," Trump added. "No enemy on Earth can match the overwhelming strength, skill and might of the American armed forces."

Trump's speech came one day after he dismissed John Bolton as national security adviser

Bolton's firing came several days after the president announced - as part of broader peace talks - he had invited Taliban leaders to Camp David for a secret meeting. But the president canceled it at the last minute because a US soldier was killed in a recent Taliban attack in Afghanistan.

Bolton had reportedly objected to the peace negotiations as well as Trump's invitation to the Taliban. Among other issues, Bolton's disagreements with Trump contributed to his firing, which the president made clear in tweets announcing the dismissal. 

Read more: Pompeo just defeated Bolton in the war to be Trump's top adviser on foreign policy

The president got into some of this during his speech on Wednesday, stating, "We had peace talks scheduled a few days ago. I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great American soldier from Puerto Rico and 11 other innocent people. They thought they would use this attack to show strength. But actually, what they showed is unrelenting weakness." 

Trump also said that a a response the US over the last four days has been hitting "our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before and that will continue."