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Skriven 2005-08-11 23:42:02 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0508111) for Thu, 2005 Aug 11
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President Meets with Defense and Foreign Policy Teams
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 11, 2005

President Meets with Defense and Foreign Policy Teams
Bush Ranch
Crawford, Texas



12:01 P.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. I'm pleased to welcome Secretary
Rumsfeld and members of his team back to Crawford, and I'm pleased to
welcome Secretary Rice and her team. We just had a meeting with the -- the
Vice President and I had a meeting with the defense team and earlier this
morning with Condi Rice and Don Rumsfeld. We'll have a joint luncheon, and
then we'll visit with the Secretary of State's folks.

We discussed recent developments in Iraq, including the political progress
that is taking place in that country. Despite the acts of violence by the
enemies of freedom, Iraq's elected leaders are now finishing work on a
democratic constitution. And later this year that constitution will be put
before the Iraqi people for their approval.

The establishment of a democratic constitution is a critical step on the
path to Iraqi self-reliance. Iraqis are taking control of their country.
They're building a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself, and
defend itself.

And we're helping them succeed. We have a strategy to help them succeed. On
the one hand, we're hunting down the terrorists, and we're training the
Iraqi security forces so Iraqis can defend themselves. Our approach can be
summed up this way: As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. And when that
mission of defeating the terrorists in Iraq is complete, our troops will
come home to a proud and grateful nation. The mission in Iraq is tough,
because the enemy understands the stakes. A free Iraq in the heart of the
Middle East will deliver a serious blow to their hateful ideology.

The second part of our strategy is to help freedom prevail in Iraq. The
recent violence in Iraq is a grim reminder of the brutal enemies we face in
the war on terror. And we are a nation at war. The war arrived on our
shores on September the 11th, 2001. And since that day, the terrorists have
continued to kill. They have killed in Madrid and Istanbul and Jakarta and
Casablanca and Riyadh and Bali and London and elsewhere, and they are
determined to do more harm. And they kill indiscriminately. In other words,
they don't care who they kill.

And they kill because they're trying to shake our will. They're trying to
drive free nations out of parts of the world, so they can topple
governments across the Middle East, and establish Taliban-like regimes in
the Middle East, and turn that region into a launching pad for attacks
against free people, and they will fail.

After September the 11th, I made a commitment to the American people that
this nation will not wait to be attacked again, and we're going to stay on
the offense. And we're fighting the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and
elsewhere so we do not have to face them here at home.

We're also fighting the murderous ideology, the hateful ideology of the
terrorists, and we're doing so by spreading freedom. See, our ideology is
hopeful and optimistic and uplifting. I've got great optimism about the
spread of freedom because I believe deep in everybody's soul is the desire
to be free, and I know that history has shown that peaceful societies are
those that are free, that democratic neighbors don't war, that democracies
promote peace.

In these times of war, a heavy burden falls on the men and women of our
Armed Forces and their families. This morning, we discussed the steps we're
taking to deal with the increased demand on our forces. For example, we've
been working to rebalance our forces, moving about 80,000 people out of
skills that are in low demand into the skills that are high demand, so we
do not have to call upon the same forces repeatedly.

We've also taken steps to improve the call-up process for our Guard and for
our Reserves. We've provided them with earlier notifications. We've given
them greater certainty about the length of their tours. We minimized the
number of extensions and repeat mobilizations.

We're working hard to ensure our troops and their families are treated with
the dignity they deserve, and the respect they've earned. In the war on
terror, our troops are serving with courage and commitment, and their
courage is inspiring others. All of our services met or exceeded their
active duty recruitment goals in July. The Army, which was below its
monthly recruiting targets earlier this year, exceeded its July active duty
recruitment goal by nearly 10 percent, though it's still behind for the
year. The Navy, Air Force and Marines are on track to meet or exceed their
active duty recruiting goals for 2005. And the troops closest to the fight
continue to reenlist in impressive numbers. Army, Navy, Air Force and
Marines are all on track to meet or exceed their reenlistment goals for the
year. Americans can have pride and confidence in our all-volunteer force.

I appreciate so very much the Secretaries and their teams who've joined me
today. I want to thank the Vice President for being here. We've had
fruitful discussions so far, and we'll continue to have fruitful
discussions throughout the day.

With that, I'll be glad to answer some of your questions. Deb.

Q Mr. President, on Iran again, has the U.S. intelligence sorted out what
role the new Iranian President might have played in the '79 embassy
take-over? And will he be given a visa to attend the U.N. meetings in New
York early next month? And wouldn't denying him a visa damage the EU3
negotiations on their nuclear program and inflame the anti-American
sentiment that Karen Hughes -- is the very thing that Karen Hughes is
trying to abate?

THE PRESIDENT: That's a really long question. Whew. Let me start off by
saying that we're still investigating allegations and/or this guy's
potential involvement in the hostage crisis. We're in agreement with -- we
have an agreement with the United Nations to allow people to come to meet,
and I suspect he will be here to meet -- at the United Nations.

On Iran, I can't remember the first four questions you asked on the
question, but --

Q Well, those are the first two and then -- (laughter) --

THE PRESIDENT: No disrespect, by the way.

Let me talk about Iran. As you know, the IAEA today issued a report that
expressed serious concerns about Iranian decisions, and that's a positive
first step. You know, our strategy is to work with the EU3 -- France and
Great Britain and Germany -- so that the Iranians hear a common voice
speaking to them about their nuclear weapons ambitions. And I appreciate
the IAEA's positive first step. As you know, there will be a report back
after a period of time, and we look forward to working -- hearing what that
report says.

But the point is that -- is that the world is coalescing around the notion
that the Iranians should not have the means and the wherewithal to be able
to develop a nuclear weapon.

Steve.

Q Thank you, sir. You're increasing U.S. troops -- increasing U.S. troop
strength in Iraq for the upcoming elections. What happens -- is it possible
those troops will be asked to stay on longer if needed to help improve
security? And if I may, what happens if Iraq misses the deadline for
drafting the new constitution?

THE PRESIDENT: Right. As to the constitution, one of the meetings we had
this morning was with Zal, our ambassador in Baghdad. And he gave us a
briefing as to the progress on the constitution. We have made it clear that
we believe that constitution can be and should be agreed upon by August
15th. And so I'm operating on the assumption that it will be agreed upon by
August the 15th. And Zal said that, you know, obviously there are some
difficult issues -- federalism being one, role of religion. Hopefully the
-- the drafters of the constitution understand our strong belief that women
ought to be treated equally in the Iraqi society. But those are issues that
still are out there. Although -- and he did say that there seems to be a
spirit of cooperation and a deep desire for people to work closely
together.

As for the troops, no decision has been made yet on increasing troops or
decreasing troops. I know there's a lot of speculation and rumors about
that. We did, as you might recall, increase troops for the Iraqi election
and for the Afghanistan elections. It seemed to have helped create
security, and I know the Secretary of Defense is analyzing that
possibility.

I also know there's a lot of folks here in the United States that are, you
know, wondering about troop withdrawals. They're concerned about the
violence and the death. They hear the stories about a loved one being lost
to combat. And, you know, I grieve for every death. It breaks my heart to
think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the
anguish that some feel about the death that takes place.

I also have heard the voices of those saying, pull out now, and I've
thought about their cry, and their sincere desire to reduce the loss of
life by pulling our troops out. I just strongly disagree. Pulling the
troops out would send a terrible signal to the enemy. Immediate withdrawal
would say to the Zarqawis of the world, and the terrorists of the world,
and the bombers who take innocent life around the world, you know, the
United States is weak; and all we've got to do is intimidate and they'll
leave.

Pulling troops out prematurely will betray the Iraqis. Our mission in Iraq,
as I said earlier, is to fight the terrorists, is to train the Iraqis. And
we're making progress training the Iraqis. Oh, I know it's hard for some
Americans to see that progress, but we are making progress. More and more
Iraqi units are becoming more and more capable of fighting off the
terrorists. And remember, and that's a country where 8.5 million Iraqis
went to the polls. They've said, we want to be free. And our mission is to
help them have a military that's capable of defeating those who would like
to dash their ambitions to be free.

Withdrawing before the mission is complete would send a signal to those who
wonder about the United States' commitment to spreading freedom. You see, I
believe and know that we're at war, and we're at war against a hateful
ideology. And the way to defeat that ideology in the long-term is to spread
a hopeful ideology, one that says to young girls, you can succeed in your
society, and you should have a chance to do so; one that says to moms and
dads, you can raise your child in a peaceful world without intimidation;
and one that says to people from all walks of life, you have a right to
express yourself in the public square.

It's the spread of liberty that is laying the foundation of peace, and is
very important for our citizens -- no matter what side of the political
aisle you're on -- to understand that the mission is a vital mission and
it's one that will be -- that we obviously couldn't complete if -- if we --
if we didn't fulfill our goals, which was to help the Iraqis.

Yes, Steve.

Q Just to make clear, you're referring to Mrs. Sheehan here, I think?

THE PRESIDENT: I'm referring to any grieving mother or father, no matter
what their political views may be. Part of my duty as the President is to
meet with those who've lost a loved one. And so, you know, listen, I
sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her -- about her
position. And I am -- she has every right in the world to say what she
believes. This is America. She has a right to her position. And I've
thought long and hard about her position. I've heard her position from
others, which is, get out of Iraq now. And it would be -- it would be a
mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay the
foundations for peace in the long-run, if we were to do so.

But no, Steve, I've met with a lot of families, and I have done my best to
bring comfort to the families and honor to the loved one, and get different
opinions when you meet with moms and dads and sons and daughters and wives
and husbands of those who have fallen. One opinion I've come away with
universally is that, you know, we should do everything we can to honor the
fallen. And one way to honor the fallen is to lay the foundation for peace.

Hutch.

Q Mr. President, these rumors about a troop draw-down really took flight
when some of your military people starting talking about drawing down in
spring. What was that about? Are they out of line?

THE PRESIDENT: I think they were rumors; I think they're speculation. One
of the things that we did announce was a joint Iraqi-U.S. commission to
look at the security situation in Iraq. Clearly -- my position has been
clear, and the position -- therefore, the position of this government is
clear, that as Iraqis stand up, we'll stand down. And that means that
there's a -- obviously, the conditions on the ground depend upon our
capacity to bring troops home, and the main condition, as to whether or not
the Iraqis have got the capability of taking the fight to the enemy.

And so I suspect what you were hearing was speculation based upon progress
that some are seeing in Iraq as to whether or not the Iraqis will be able
to take the fight to the enemy. In other words, you've got people --
obviously, it's important to plan. It's important to think down the road.
And you've got people saying, well, if the Iraqis are capable, if more and
more units are capable of taking the fight to the enemy, it would then
provide an opportunity to replace coalition troops with those Iraqis. I
think that's what you're seeing. I think it's kind of what we call
speculation. And the decision finally will be made by me upon the
recommendation of General Casey, through Secretary Rumsfeld, to me.

Q Does that speculation grounded in fact, to you, given the way things have
gone just recently?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, the -- I am pleased with the progress being made when
it comes to training Iraqi units. One of the things I announced at Fort
Bragg was our strategy to embed our troops within Iraqi units so to better
facilitate the training of those Iraqi units. And this morning, General
Casey reported to me and Secretary Rumsfeld and -- the folks standing right
back here -- reported to us that more and more units are becoming more and
more capable, and that the embedding process is working.

Now, there's not that many that can stand alone yet, but there are a lot
more that are -- have gone from raw -- you know, that raw recruit stage, to
plenty capable. In some cases, some units need no United States or
coalition force help; in some cases, they need minimal help. But the point
is, is that there is a matrix, and we're following that matrix as more and
more troops become capable and competent. And so my answer to you is that
we are making progress.

And I've said all along we'd like to get our troops home as soon as
possible -- but soon as possible is conditions-based. And so we're
monitoring progress. The important thing for the American people to know is
we are making progress. There's a political track on which we're making
progress, and the security track on which we're making progress. And I know
it's tough and I know it's hard work, but America has done hard work
before. And as a result of the hard work we have done before, we have laid
the foundation for peace for future generations.

And I remind people, when they think about the conflict we're in, to think
about World War II, when an enemy of ours -- Japan, for example -- is now a
loyal friend and an ally because of the hard work we did, not only during
the war, but in the post-war reconstruction of Japan.

And the sacrifices that our troops are making, our family are making, are
-- are unbelievably noble, and I am incredibly proud of our military, and I
know most of the American people are, as well.

Listen, thank you all, very much.

END 12:20 P.M. CDT
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