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Skriven 2006-07-25 23:35:24 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060725) for Tue, 2006 Jul 25
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President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq Participate in Press
Availability
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 25, 2006

President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq Participate in Press
Availability
The East Room

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ Fact Sheet: Prime Minister Maliki's Meeting with President Bush ˙˙˙˙˙
In Focus: Renewal in Iraq

11:27 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all. Please be seated.

Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to the White House. I just had a very
constructive meeting with the leader of a government that has been chosen
by the Iraqi people in free and fair elections. I appreciate your vision
for a free Iraq, and I appreciate you briefing me on a strategy to reduce
violence and to rebuild your country.

You have a strong partner in the United States of America, and I'm honored
to stand here with you, Mr. Prime Minister. It's a remarkable and
historical moment, as far as I'm concerned, to welcome the freely elected
leader of Iraq to the White House.

We discussed a lot of issues. The Prime Minister has laid out a
comprehensive plan. That's what leaders do. They see problems, they address
problems, and they lay out a plan to solve the problems. The Prime Minister
understands he's got challenges and he's identified priorities.

Our priority is to help this government succeed. It's in the national
interest of the United States that a unity government, based upon a
constitution that is advanced and modern, succeed. And that's what I told
the Prime Minister. He comes wondering whether or not we're committed. He
hears all kinds of stories here in the United States. And I assured him
that this government stands with the Iraqi people. We're impressed by your
courage, Mr. Prime Minister, and we're impressed by the courage of the
Iraqi people. And we want to help you.

We talked about security in Baghdad. No question the terrorists and
extremists are brutal. These are people that just kill innocent people to
achieve an objective, which is to destabilize his government. The Prime
Minister tells me that he and his government are not shaken by these
actions. They're concerned about them, they're not shaken by them.

The Iraqi people want to succeed. They want to end this violence. Our
strategy is to remain on the offense, including in Baghdad. Under the Prime
Minister's leadership, coalition and Iraqi leaders are modifying their
operational concept to bring greater security to the Iraqi capital.
Coalition and Iraqi forces will secure individual neighborhoods, will
ensure the existence of an Iraqi security presence in the neighborhoods,
and gradually expand the security presence as Iraqi citizens help them root
out those who instigate violence.

This plan will involve embedding more U.S. military police with Iraqi
police units to make them more effective. The Prime Minister advised me
that to support this plan, he and General Casey have agreed to deploy
additional American troops and Iraqi security personnel in Baghdad in the
coming weeks. These will come from other areas of the country. Our military
commanders tell me that this deployment will better reflect the current
conditions on the ground in Iraq.

We also agreed that Iraqi security forces need better tools to do their
job. And so we'll work with them to equip them with greater mobility, fire
power, and protection.

We still face challenges in Baghdad, yet we see progress elsewhere in Iraq.
Iraqi security forces are growing in strength and capability, and recently,
a key province in southern Iraq was transferred to full Iraqi civilian
control. In the midst of all the violence in Baghdad, sometimes a --
success is obscured. And this transfer of a key province is a beginning of
other provinces to be transferred to full Iraqi control. It's a sign of
progress. No question it's tough in Baghdad, and no question it's tough in
other parts of Iraq. But there are also places where progress is being
made, and the Prime Minister and I talked about that progress.

The Prime Minister and I agreed to establish a joint committee to achieve
Iraqi self-reliance. This new partnership will seek to ensure the smoothest
and most effective assumption of security responsibility by Iraqi forces.
Prime Minister Maliki was very clear this morning; he said he does not want
American troops to leave his country until his government can protect the
Iraqi people. And I assured him that America will not abandon the Iraqi
people.

Tomorrow, the Prime Minister and I will travel to Fort Belvoir in Virginia
to visit with American troops and their families so we can thank them for
their courage and their sacrifice. And we in the United States need to
recognize the enormous sacrifice of the Iraqi people. The people are
suffering hardships. These terrorists and killers are trying to shake the
will of the Iraqi people. But despite large casualties, both civilian and
military, the Iraqi people continue to stand for public office, enlist in
their security forces, and, through their actions, demonstrate every day
that they want to raise their families and live their lives like other free
people around the world. And I'm impressed by the courage of the Iraqi
citizens, Mr. Prime Minister.

Citizens continue to believe in the future of their country and to
subscribe to the notion upon which America is also founded, that the
freedom of their country is worth fighting for. America is proud to be
allied with such people. It's important the Iraqi people hear of our pride
and our determination, Mr. Prime Minister.

We also discussed several new initiatives we're undertaking to create
opportunity for the Iraqi people, and one of them is called the Iraqi
Leaders Initiative. And starting next summer, 200 high school and
university students from all regions of Iraq and all sectors of Iraqi
society will come to America to study at local institutions and build
personal friendships with the people of our country. This is going to be
the largest program of its kind, and it will help build the next generation
of leaders for a free and democratic Iraq.

The Prime Minister and I spent time talking about Lebanon, and we had a
frank exchange of views on this situation. I listened closely to the Prime
Minister, and I valued a chance to hear his perspective. I heard him on the
seriousness of the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, and the need to do more
for the Lebanese people. I told him that Secretary Rice has announced
greater humanitarian measures for Lebanon, to include $30 million in aid.
America is concerned about the women and children who suffer in that
country, concerned about the loss of innocent life. I reminded him and told
him that Condi is over there working to establish corridors to ensure the
delivery of humanitarian aid and central relief supplies.

I told him I support a sustainable cease-fire that will bring about an end
to violence, and I talked about the importance of strengthening the
Lebanese government and supporting the Lebanese people.

Prime Minister and I also discussed his proposal for an international
compact for Iraq. The compact will outline Iraq's commitment to specific
economic reforms and the international community's commitment to support
those reforms. We expect the international compact will be signed later
this year. And I told the Prime Minister that the United States will work
to encourage other countries to support the compact, and for other
countries that have made pledges to Iraq, to make good on their pledges.

In light of the recent violence in the Middle East, some are questioning
whether democracy can take root in the region. I believe that the Iraqi
people are showing us their answer. They're making enormous sacrifices to
secure their freedom, and they've elected leaders who are making tough
decisions.

And, Mr. Prime Minister, you're such a leader, and I welcome you to the
White House. Thanks for coming.

PRIME MINISTER MALIKI: (As translated.) Thank you very much. In the name of
God, the most merciful and the passionate. I would like to thank President
George Bush. Mr. President, I would like to thank you for your invitation
to come here and visit the United States of America. And I would like to
thank you for the warm welcome that myself and my delegation received. And
also I appreciate very much your interest in the situation in Iraq and the
responsible spirit that has dominated our discussions today.

We have discussed with President Bush clearly and frankly all the current
challenges, and the horizon and the future, and ways of cooperation between
our two countries in order to build a democratic, united, flourishing Iraq
that enjoys its full national sovereignty. We have agreed that building the
security and military institutions in Iraq in terms of numbers, equipment,
firearms, and as quickly as possible, represents the fundamental base in
order to stabilize the country and to have security and defeat terrorism.

I reaffirmed to the President Iraq's need to the cooperation from the
international community and your cooperation. And I have seen a great deal
of understanding for this very vital issue from the President. I also
expressed my appreciation to the role that's been played by the
multinational forces and the exerted efforts to support us and to help us
in building our security organizations, to allow our organizations to fully
be in control of the security position and the security circumstances.

I agreed with the President to form a joint committee of experts and
connections in order to achieve the self-sufficiency for the Iraqi forces.
This will allow these forces to bear the responsibility of protecting
security and confronting terrorism in our country. And in this field, we
have achieved our first and initial success when our forces assumed the
responsibility in the Muthanna governorate. This is a very important step,
will be followed by similar steps in many other governorates in Iraq.

We are determined to defeat terrorism, and the security plan for Baghdad
has entered the second phase and it's achieving its objectives in hunting
the terrorist networks and eliminating it.

I have informed the President about the national reconciliation plan, which
I have launched in order to attract more Iraqi forces which have not
engaged in the political process yet. This initiative represents, in
addition to building the Iraqi armed forces, one of the initiatives that
will contribute to choking terrorism and defeating terrorism in Iraq.

On the economic sphere and the reconstruction of Iraq, I have seen support
from President Bush to ensure the success of the international compact,
which we hope that, through it, we'll be able to have the support of the
world community in reconstructing Iraq and improving the services that the
government is providing to its own Iraqi people. We hope that many other
countries will participate and contribute in that conference that will be
convened in the next few months in order to sign this international
compact. I assured the President Iraq's readiness to make this conference a
success and accept the mutual commitments between Iraq and those who will
sign the compact. The President reaffirmed his administration's commitment
to encourage as many countries as possible to support this compact.

I also discussed with the President the issue of Lebanon in all
seriousness, in a way that matches the importance of the size of
destruction that happened to the Lebanese people as a result of the
military air and ground attacks. And I also emphasized the importance of
immediate cease-fire, and call on the international community to support
the Lebanese government and support the Lebanese people to overcome the
damage and destruction that happened.

I also expressed to the President about Iraq's desire and Iraq's political
leadership's desire to merge in the international community and its
institutions, and to participate effectively in the various issues on the
basis of mutual interest, and to be committed to the policy of not
interfering or intervening in the domestic policies of other countries. I
also reaffirmed the importance of approaching every issue through peaceful
and diplomatic means to deal with the problems that exist in our region.
These chronic problems require a great deal of wisdom and patience and
perseverance in order to find the just and successful and fair solution.

Mr. President, I thank you once again for your kind invitation and for your
very warm hospitality and generosity.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Two questions a side, starting with you, Tom.

Q Mr. President, and Mr. Prime Minister, why should one expect this new
security crackdown in Baghdad to succeed when all previous ones have
failed?

And, Mr. President, you've said before that withdrawal of U.S. troops would
depend on conditions on the ground. What do conditions on the ground now in
Baghdad suggest in terms of whether there can be a significant withdrawal
of American forces by the end of the year?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I'll start -- do you want to start? Go ahead.

PRIME MINISTER MALIKI: Actually, the circumstances that the Baghdad
security plans, or other plans related to Basra and other places are
different in terms of circumstances from the previous plans. Today Iraq has
a national unity government, that is basically composed of -- all elements
of the Iraqi people are represented in this government. Iraq has a
parliament; it has a constitution to face all these challenges. So what the
Baghdad security plan gains in terms of support is support from all over
the segments of the Iraqi population.

Secondly, by monitoring the reality on the ground, we will be able to
ensure the success, especially what happens against the innocent people.
The Baghdad security forces was able to eliminate many hot spots of crimes
and troubles in Baghdad.

PRESIDENT BUSH: One of the things that's important is for -- and one of the
reasons why you trust the commanders on the ground is because there needs
to be flexibility. And I explained to the Prime Minister that I'll be
making my decisions based upon the recommendations of General Casey. And,
obviously, the violence in Baghdad is still terrible, and, therefore, there
needs to be more troops. In other words, the commanders said, what more can
we do; how best to address the conditions on the ground. And they have
recommended, as a result of working with the Prime Minister, based upon his
recommendation, that we increase the number of U.S. troops in Baghdad,
alongside of Iraqi troops. And we're going to do that.

The second request that the Prime Minister made was that he needs more
equipment for his troops. And General Dempsey, along with General Casey
have reviewed his requests and his ideas. And I told the Prime Minister if
this is what these generals recommend, it's what I support.

Conditions change inside a country, Tom. And the question is, are we going
to be facile enough to change with -- will we be nimble enough; will we be
able to deal with the circumstances on the ground? And the answer is, yes,
we will.

Mr. Prime Minister, would you like to call on somebody? There you go.

Q I have two questions. One, President Bush. The first one: Is there an
obvious change that could be made to the security status, particularly in
Baghdad right now?

And the second question for you, Mr. Prime Minister. You said in a press
conference in Baghdad that your visit to Washington, you will cross the T's
and dot the I's, especially regarding the security needs. Did you cross the
T's and dot the I's in your discussion with President Bush?

PRESIDENT BUSH: -- a lot of time talking about security, and I can
understand why. Because there's -- there are people who are willing to
destroy innocent life to achieve a political objective. And the Prime
Minister is deeply concerned about the lives of his fellow citizens. And I
appreciate that concern. I would be very worried if a Prime Minister came
to talk about his country and did not mention, first and foremost,
protecting people's lives. That's, after all, the most important
responsibility of government.

And he believes, and I believe, that the -- there needs to be more forces
inside Baghdad who are willing to hold people to account. In other words,
if you find somebody who's kidnapping and murdering, the murderer ought to
be held to account. It ought to be clear in society that that kind of
behavior is not tolerated.

And that's the attitude of the Prime Minister. My attitude is, we shouldn't
try to gauge whether or not someone is justified, or not; we ought to be
saying that if you murder, you're responsible for your actions. And I think
the Iraqi people appreciate that type of attitude.

And so we -- so we're not only talking about adjusting a Baghdad plan at
the Prime Minister's request, to make it more effective, we're also talking
about how to make the Iraqi army more effective. But the truth of the
matter is, the Iraqi army is becoming a highly professional force that will
help bring confidence to the people inside Iraq that the government has got
the capacity to protect them.

PRIME MINISTER MALIKI: Thank you, Mr. President. Actually, successful acts
and large issues has to be based on a clear vision. And through the serious
discussion and the clear and the frank conversation that I had with
President George Bush, that we are truly crossing the T's and dotting the
I's in terms of enhancing the security and supporting the reconstruction.
Through the discussion we were able to go through the details of the vision
that will cover the future, because we are not talking here about a
specific phase of the reconstruction, but we are facing the necessity of
continuous work in order to make sure that the entire political experiment
will succeed.

I believe with a great deal of confidence that I have reaffirmed through
this, and I became convinced that, I have full confidence of victory and we
will be highly capable of defeating terrorism in Iraq.

Q -- you had a frank exchange on the Middle East. How can you get Arab
nations to apply pressure to stop the fighting in the Middle East, if
allies like the Prime Minister won't condemn Hezbollah?

And, Mr. Prime Minister, what, exactly is your position on Hezbollah? Thank
you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: The terrorists are afraid of democracies. And what you've
witnessed in Israel, in my judgment, is the act of a terrorist organization
trying to stop the advance of democracy in the region.

I assured the Prime Minister that I care deeply about the suffering that
takes place, that we understand the anguish of leaders in the region who
see innocent people losing their life. I also assured him that Condi Rice's
mission is to help get humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people. She's
working on not only air corridors, but sea corridors and land corridors, to
get aid to the people. And the United States will participate, as will
other nations.

I also talked about making sure that we adhere to U.N. Resolution 1559,
which basically -- not basically -- strongly urges political parties not to
be armed. A key part of our strategy is to support democracy. And so, not
only do we support democracy in the Palestinian Territory, we also support
the Lebanese democracy. I think the Prime Minister was pleased to hear my
strong support for the Siniora government.

And so Condi goes with the following messages: We support the Siniora
government; we care about the people; we will help to get aid to the
people; and that we want a sustainable cease-fire. We don't want something
that's short-term in duration. We want to address the root causes of the
violence in the area, and therefore, our mission and our goal is to have a
lasting peace -- not a temporary peace, but something that lasts.

And I believe that Iraq, in some ways, faces the same difficulty, and that
is a new democracy is emerging and there are people who are willing to use
terrorist techniques to stop it. That's what the murder is all about.
People fear democracy if your vision is based upon kind of a totalitarian
view of the world. And that's the ultimate challenge facing Iraq and
Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, and that is, will the free world,
and the neighborhood, work in concert to help develop sustainable
democracy?

And Iraq took a long step along that -- a big step on that path when they
developed a constitution that was ratified by the Iraqi people. And it's a
modern constitution, and it's a landmark moment in the history of freedom
advancing in the Middle East.

I believe that deep in everybody's soul, Mr. Prime Minister, is a desire to
be free. And when 12 million Iraqis went to the polls and said, I want to
be free, it was an amazing moment. I know it seems like a long, long time
ago that that happened. But it was a powerful statement about what is
possible in terms of achieving peace.

PRIME MINISTER MALIKI: Thank you. Here, actually we're talking about the
suffering of a people in a country. And we are not in the process of
reviewing one issue or another, or any government position. The important
thing here is what we are trying to do is to stop the killing and the
destruction, and then we leave the room and the way for the international
and diplomatic efforts and international organization to play the role to
be there.

We are not here facing a situation only in Lebanon, but would be facing a
variety of issues in different countries. I'm talking here about the
approach that should be used in order to stop this process of promoting
hatred, that has to be superior decisions coming from above in order to
protect these experiments, particularly the democratic experiments that
should be protected by those who are trying to oppose it.

Q Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister. General Abizaid said that the
danger that Iraq is facing is the religious danger. Do you agree with his
assessment? And do you see that is there any security plan that can really
curb the religious violence?

(For President Bush) -- humanitarian aid to Lebanon. Yet there's also
reports that your administration are speeding up delivery of laser-guided
missiles to Israel and bunker-buster bombs. And do you see this -- if this
is true, do you see it as contradictory? On one hand, you allow Israel to
kill people, and civilian, in particular, and on the other hand, you're
trying to aid the very people that have been suffering and killed as a
result?

PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I don't see a contradiction in us honoring commitments
we made prior to Hezbollah attacks into Israeli territory. And I -- like
the Prime Minister, I'm concerned about loss of innocent life, and we will
do everything we can to help move equipment -- I mean, food and medicines
to help the people who have been displaced and the people who suffer.

PRIME MINISTER MALIKI: I do not reduce the risk and the danger of the
religious feelings, especially through some of the organizations that are
trying to promote this hatred. And there are -- some of the events are on
the basis of religious divide, but I would like to assure the political and
religious leaders and civil societies that the Iraqi parties, politicians,
religious leaders are rising to their responsibility and are condemning
those who are cooperating with al Qaeda and those who are trying to start a
civil war.

The most important element in the security plan is to curb the religious
violence, because we will not allow any Iraqis to use this background. This
is one of the main objectives of the security plan. It is the policy of the
government: There is no killing or discrimination against anyone.
Everything is by law and everything based on the constitution and the law.
The government responsibility is to protect all Iraqis, regardless of their
ethnic or religious background. It's important to say that we are shedding
the light against those who are calling for sectarian religious, because we
feel that this is a great danger to Iraq. And, God willing, there will be
no civil war in Iraq.

Thank you very much.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.

END 11:56 A.M. EDT

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