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Skriven 2006-03-11 23:33:26 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060311) for Sat, 2006 Mar 11
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President's Radio Address
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 11, 2006

President's Radio Address


ÿÿÿÿÿAudio
ÿÿÿÿÿIn Focus: Renewal in Iraq
ÿÿÿÿÿ

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.

This month will mark the three-year anniversary of the start of Operation
Iraqi Freedom, which liberated Iraq from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. As
this milestone approaches, I will be giving a series of speeches to update
the American people on our strategy for victory in Iraq. I will discuss the
progress we are making, the lessons we've learned from our experiences, and
how we're fixing what has not worked.

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On Monday, I will give the first of these speeches, focusing on the
security element of our strategy: the task of defeating the terrorists and
training Iraqi security forces so they can take the lead in the fight and
defend their own democracy.

The Iraqi security forces have made great strides in the past year, and
they performed well after the recent bombing of the Golden Mosque of
Samarra. This mosque is one of Shia Islam's holiest sites, and after it was
bombed, bands of armed militia began exacting revenge, with reprisal
attacks on Sunni mosques and random violence that took the lives of
hundreds of innocent Iraqis.

Immediately after the attack, Iraq's leaders came together and acted to
restore calm and end the violence. They deployed Iraqi security forces to
Baghdad and other areas threatened by violence. These forces moved rapidly
and effectively to protect religious sites, enforce a curfew, and
re-establish civil order where necessary. We commend them for their good
work.

The situation in Iraq is still tense. Reports of kidnappings and executions
are being taken very seriously. The Iraqi government has made clear that
such violent attacks cannot be tolerated. The vast majority of Iraqis have
shown they want a future of freedom and peace.

By their response over the past two weeks and their participation in three
successful elections last year, the Iraqi people have made clear they will
not let a violent minority take that future away by tearing the country
apart. And the Iraqi security forces have shown that they are capable of
rising above sectarian divisions to protect the unity of a free Iraq.

The effective performance of the Iraqi security forces during this crisis
showed that our hard work to build up and train these forces is paying off.
In the coming months, we will help prepare more Iraqi battalions to take
the lead in battle, and Iraqi forces will assume responsibility over more
territory. Our goal is to have the Iraqis control more territory than the
Coalition forces by the end of this year. And as Iraqis assume
responsibility over more territory, this frees American and Coalition
forces to concentrate on hunting down high-value targets like the terrorist
Zarqawi and his associates.

As we take the fight to the terrorists, they realize they cannot defeat us
directly in battle, so they have resorted to brutal attacks against
innocent Iraqis and American forces using improvised explosive devices, or
IEDs. IEDs are homemade bombs that can be hidden in cars or by the side of
a road and detonated remotely, using everyday devices like garage door
openers and cordless phones.

These weapons are now the principal threat to our troops and to the future
of a free Iraq -- and to defeat this threat, my Administration has
established a new high-level command at the Department of Defense, led by
retired four-star General Montgomery Meigs. This weekend, General Meigs is
briefing me at the White House on our plan to defeat the threat of IEDs.
We're harnessing every available resource, the ingenuity of our best
scientists and engineers, and the determination of our military to defeat
this threat -- and we're not going to rest until this danger to our troops
has been removed.

In the coming days, there will be considerable reflection on the removal of
Saddam Hussein from power and our remaining mission in Iraq. The last three
years have tested our resolve. The fighting has been tough. The enemy we
face has proved to be brutal and relentless. We have changed our approach
in many areas to reflect the hard realities on the ground. And the
sacrifice being made by our young men and women who wear the uniform has
been heartening and inspiring.

Amid the daily news of car bombs and kidnappings and brutal killings, I can
understand why many of our fellow citizens are now wondering if the entire
mission was worth it. I strongly believe our country is better off with
Saddam Hussein out of power. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was an enemy of
America who shot at our airplanes, had a history of pursuing and using
weapons of mass destruction, threatened and invaded his neighbors, ordered
the death of thousands of his citizens, and supported terrorism.

After the liberation of the Iraqi people, al Qaida and their affiliates
have made Iraq the central front on the war on terror. By helping the Iraqi
people build a free and representative government, we will deny the
terrorists a safe haven to plan attacks against America. The security of
our country is directly linked to the liberty of the Iraqi people. This
will require more difficult days of fighting and sacrifice, yet I am
confident that our strategy will result in victory, and then our troops can
come home with the honor they have earned.

Thank you for listening.

END

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