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Skriven 2007-01-10 23:30:58 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0701107) for Wed, 2007 Jan 10
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President's Address to the Nation
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 10, 2007

President's Address to the Nation
The Library

President's Remarks view


9:01 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight in Iraq, the Armed Forces of the
United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction
of the global war on terror -- and our safety here at home. The new
strategy I outline tonight will change America's course in Iraq, and help
us succeed in the fight against terror.

When I addressed you just over a year ago, nearly 12 million Iraqis had
cast their ballots for a unified and democratic nation. The elections of
2005 were a stunning achievement. We thought that these elections would
bring the Iraqis together, and that as we trained Iraqi security forces we
could accomplish our mission with fewer American troops.

But in 2006, the opposite happened. The violence in Iraq -- particularly in
Baghdad -- overwhelmed the political gains the Iraqis had made. Al Qaeda
terrorists and Sunni insurgents recognized the mortal danger that Iraq's
elections posed for their cause, and they responded with outrageous acts of
murder aimed at innocent Iraqis. They blew up one of the holiest shrines in
Shia Islam -- the Golden Mosque of Samarra -- in a calculated effort to
provoke Iraq's Shia population to retaliate. Their strategy worked. Radical
Shia elements, some supported by Iran, formed death squads. And the result
was a vicious cycle of sectarian violence that continues today.

The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people -- and it is
unacceptable to me. Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done
everything we have asked them to do. Where mistakes have been made, the
responsibility rests with me.

It is clear that we need to change our strategy in Iraq. So my national
security team, military commanders, and diplomats conducted a comprehensive
review. We consulted members of Congress from both parties, our allies
abroad, and distinguished outside experts. We benefitted from the
thoughtful recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel led
by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee
Hamilton. In our discussions, we all agreed that there is no magic formula
for success in Iraq. And one message came through loud and clear: Failure
in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States.

The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would
grow in strength and gain new recruits. They would be in a better position
to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil
revenues to fund their ambitions. Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit
of nuclear weapons. Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan
and launch attacks on the American people. On September the 11th, 2001, we
saw what a refuge for extremists on the other side of the world could bring
to the streets of our own cities. For the safety of our people, America
must succeed in Iraq.

The most urgent priority for success in Iraq is security, especially in
Baghdad. Eighty percent of Iraq's sectarian violence occurs within 30 miles
of the capital. This violence is splitting Baghdad into sectarian enclaves,
and shaking the confidence of all Iraqis. Only Iraqis can end the sectarian
violence and secure their people. And their government has put forward an
aggressive plan to do it.

Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There
were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had
been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many
restrictions on the troops we did have. Our military commanders reviewed
the new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report
that it does. They also report that this plan can work.

Now let me explain the main elements of this effort: The Iraqi government
will appoint a military commander and two deputy commanders for their
capital. The Iraqi government will deploy Iraqi Army and National Police
brigades across Baghdad's nine districts. When these forces are fully
deployed, there will be 18 Iraqi Army and National Police brigades
committed to this effort, along with local police. These Iraqi forces will
operate from local police stations -- conducting patrols and setting up
checkpoints, and going door-to-door to gain the trust of Baghdad residents.

This is a strong commitment. But for it to succeed, our commanders say the
Iraqis will need our help. So America will change our strategy to help the
Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring
security to the people of Baghdad. This will require increasing American
force levels. So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops
to Iraq. The vast majority of them -- five brigades -- will be deployed to
Baghdad. These troops will work alongside Iraqi units and be embedded in
their formations. Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help
Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local
population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are
capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs.

Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous
operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences: In
earlier operations, Iraqi and American forces cleared many neighborhoods of
terrorists and insurgents, but when our forces moved on to other targets,
the killers returned. This time, we'll have the force levels we need to
hold the areas that have been cleared. In earlier operations, political and
sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into
neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This
time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter those
neighborhoods -- and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or
sectarian interference will not be tolerated.

I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that
America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not
follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American
people -- and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time
to act. The Prime Minister understands this. Here is what he told his
people just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe
haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political
affiliation."

This new strategy will not yield an immediate end to suicide bombings,
assassinations, or IED attacks. Our enemies in Iraq will make every effort
to ensure that our television screens are filled with images of death and
suffering. Yet over time, we can expect to see Iraqi troops chasing down
murderers, fewer brazen acts of terror, and growing trust and cooperation
from Baghdad's residents. When this happens, daily life will improve,
Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders, and the government will have
the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas. Most
of Iraq's Sunni and Shia want to live together in peace -- and reducing the
violence in Baghdad will help make reconciliation possible.

A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations. Ordinary
Iraqi citizens must see that military operations are accompanied by visible
improvements in their neighborhoods and communities. So America will hold
the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced.

To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take
responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November. To give
every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass
legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is
committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10
billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that
will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold
provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter
their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification
laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's
constitution.

America will change our approach to help the Iraqi government as it works
to meet these benchmarks. In keeping with the recommendations of the Iraq
Study Group, we will increase the embedding of American advisers in Iraqi
Army units, and partner a coalition brigade with every Iraqi Army division.
We will help the Iraqis build a larger and better-equipped army, and we
will accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, which remains the essential
U.S. security mission in Iraq. We will give our commanders and civilians
greater flexibility to spend funds for economic assistance. We will double
the number of provincial reconstruction teams. These teams bring together
military and civilian experts to help local Iraqi communities pursue
reconciliation, strengthen the moderates, and speed the transition to Iraqi
self-reliance. And Secretary Rice will soon appoint a reconstruction
coordinator in Baghdad to ensure better results for economic assistance
being spent in Iraq.

As we make these changes, we will continue to pursue al Qaeda and foreign
fighters. Al Qaeda is still active in Iraq. Its home base is Anbar
Province. Al Qaeda has helped make Anbar the most violent area of Iraq
outside the capital. A captured al Qaeda document describes the terrorists'
plan to infiltrate and seize control of the province. This would bring al
Qaeda closer to its goals of taking down Iraq's democracy, building a
radical Islamic empire, and launching new attacks on the United States at
home and abroad.

Our military forces in Anbar are killing and capturing al Qaeda leaders,
and they are protecting the local population. Recently, local tribal
leaders have begun to show their willingness to take on al Qaeda. And as a
result, our commanders believe we have an opportunity to deal a serious
blow to the terrorists. So I have given orders to increase American forces
in Anbar Province by 4,000 troops. These troops will work with Iraqi and
tribal forces to keep up the pressure on the terrorists. America's men and
women in uniform took away al Qaeda's safe haven in Afghanistan -- and we
will not allow them to re-establish it in Iraq.

Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and
stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenges. This begins
with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists
and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is
providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt
the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran
and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced
weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

We're also taking other steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect
American interests in the Middle East. I recently ordered the deployment of
an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will expand
intelligence-sharing and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our
friends and allies. We will work with the governments of Turkey and Iraq to
help them resolve problems along their border. And we will work with others
to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region.

We will use America's full diplomatic resources to rally support for Iraq
from nations throughout the Middle East. Countries like Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf States need to understand that an American
defeat in Iraq would create a new sanctuary for extremists and a strategic
threat to their survival. These nations have a stake in a successful Iraq
that is at peace with its neighbors, and they must step up their support
for Iraq's unity government. We endorse the Iraqi government's call to
finalize an International Compact that will bring new economic assistance
in exchange for greater economic reform. And on Friday, Secretary Rice will
leave for the region, to build support for Iraq and continue the urgent
diplomacy required to help bring peace to the Middle East.

The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a
military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time. On
one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation. On the other side
are extremists who kill the innocent, and have declared their intention to
destroy our way of life. In the long run, the most realistic way to protect
the American people is to provide a hopeful alternative to the hateful
ideology of the enemy, by advancing liberty across a troubled region. It is
in the interests of the United States to stand with the brave men and women
who are risking their lives to claim their freedom, and to help them as
they work to raise up just and hopeful societies across the Middle East.

From Afghanistan to Lebanon to the Palestinian Territories, millions of
ordinary people are sick of the violence, and want a future of peace and
opportunity for their children. And they are looking at Iraq. They want to
know: Will America withdraw and yield the future of that country to the
extremists, or will we stand with the Iraqis who have made the choice for
freedom?

The changes I have outlined tonight are aimed at ensuring the survival of a
young democracy that is fighting for its life in a part of the world of
enormous importance to American security. Let me be clear: The terrorists
and insurgents in Iraq are without conscience, and they will make the year
ahead bloody and violent. Even if our new strategy works exactly as
planned, deadly acts of violence will continue -- and we must expect more
Iraqi and American casualties. The question is whether our new strategy
will bring us closer to success. I believe that it will.

Victory will not look like the ones our fathers and grandfathers achieved.
There will be no surrender ceremony on the deck of a battleship. But
victory in Iraq will bring something new in the Arab world -- a functioning
democracy that polices its territory, upholds the rule of law, respects
fundamental human liberties, and answers to its people. A democratic Iraq
will not be perfect. But it will be a country that fights terrorists
instead of harboring them -- and it will help bring a future of peace and
security for our children and our grandchildren.

This new approach comes after consultations with Congress about the
different courses we could take in Iraq. Many are concerned that the Iraqis
are becoming too dependent on the United States, and therefore, our policy
should focus on protecting Iraq's borders and hunting down al Qaeda. Their
solution is to scale back America's efforts in Baghdad -- or announce the
phased withdrawal of our combat forces. We carefully considered these
proposals. And we concluded that to step back now would force a collapse of
the Iraqi government, tear the country apart, and result in mass killings
on an unimaginable scale. Such a scenario would result in our troops being
forced to stay in Iraq even longer, and confront an enemy that is even more
lethal. If we increase our support at this crucial moment, and help the
Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our
troops begin coming home.

In the days ahead, my national security team will fully brief Congress on
our new strategy. If members have improvements that can be made, we will
make them. If circumstances change, we will adjust. Honorable people have
different views, and they will voice their criticisms. It is fair to hold
our views up to scrutiny. And all involved have a responsibility to explain
how the path they propose would be more likely to succeed.

Acting on the good advice of Senator Joe Lieberman and other key members of
Congress, we will form a new, bipartisan working group that will help us
come together across party lines to win the war on terror. This group will
meet regularly with me and my administration; it will help strengthen our
relationship with Congress. We can begin by working together to increase
the size of the active Army and Marine Corps, so that America has the Armed
Forces we need for the 21st century. We also need to examine ways to
mobilize talented American civilians to deploy overseas, where they can
help build democratic institutions in communities and nations recovering
from war and tyranny.

In these dangerous times, the United States is blessed to have
extraordinary and selfless men and women willing to step forward and defend
us. These young Americans understand that our cause in Iraq is noble and
necessary -- and that the advance of freedom is the calling of our time.
They serve far from their families, who make the quiet sacrifices of lonely
holidays and empty chairs at the dinner table. They have watched their
comrades give their lives to ensure our liberty. We mourn the loss of every
fallen American -- and we owe it to them to build a future worthy of their
sacrifice.

Fellow citizens: The year ahead will demand more patience, sacrifice, and
resolve. It can be tempting to think that America can put aside the burdens
of freedom. Yet times of testing reveal the character of a nation. And
throughout our history, Americans have always defied the pessimists and
seen our faith in freedom redeemed. Now America is engaged in a new
struggle that will set the course for a new century. We can, and we will,
prevail.

We go forward with trust that the Author of Liberty will guide us through
these trying hours. Thank you and good night.

END 9:21 P.M. EST

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