Criminals?

I thought we were fighting a War against Terrorists.
Now I will grant you that a terrorist is a criminal.
But a criminal is not necessarily a terrorist.
A terrorist commits his or her crime for political reasons.
A criminal commits his or her crime mostly for personal reasons.

Yesterday President Bush kept calling the people the Iraqi government is trying to get rid of in Basra criminals.
...any government that presumes to represent the majority of people must confront criminal elements or people who think they can live outside the law. And that's what's taking place in Basra and in other parts of Iraq. I would say this is a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq.
...And one of the early questions I had to the Prime Minister was would he be willing to confront criminal elements, whether they be Shia or Sunni?
...And of course, routing out these folks who've burrowed in society, who take advantage of the ability to be criminals, or the ability to intimidate citizens, is going to take a while.

So why does Bush use the word criminal?
It is one thing to help the Iraqi government root out criminals.
It is quite another to be engaged in getting rid of terrorism.
So which is it, Mr. Bush?
Could you, for once, be clear on something, and give us some confidence you know what you are talking about and can explain it?