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Skriven 2006-12-13 23:31:18 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0612135) for Wed, 2006 Dec 13
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President Bush Meets with Senior U.S. Defense Officials on Iraq
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 13, 2006

President Bush Meets with Senior U.S. Defense Officials on Iraq
The Pentagon

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Defense ˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Renewal in Iraq

2:45 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: I've just concluded a very productive meeting with the
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Pete Pace,
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Vice President. I thank these men who wear our
uniform for a very candid and fruitful discussion about the -- about how to
secure this country, and how to win a war that we now find ourselves in.

We spent a lot of time talking about a new way forward in Iraq, to help the
Iraqi government confront and defeat the enemies of a free Iraq. We all
agree it's in our nation's interest that we help this government succeed.
We recognize there are enemies that would like to topple this young
democracy so they could have safe haven from which to plot and plan attacks
against moderate nations in the Middle East, as well as attacks against the
United States. It's in our interest that we help this government succeed.

There has been a lot of violence in Iraq. And the violence has been
horrific. Scores of innocent men, women, and children are being brutally
killed by ruthless murderers. Our troops are engaged in offensive
operations, and we mourn the loss of life. We are saddened by the loss of
every single life amongst our servicemen and women. Our folks are very
active in al Anbar and in Baghdad, which is where the enemy is
concentrated.

Our commanders report that the enemy has also suffered. Offensive
operations by Iraqi and coalition forces against terrorists and insurgents
and death squad leaders have yielded positive results. In the months of
October, November, and the first week of December, we have killed or
captured nearly 5,900 of the enemy.

While the enemy is far from being defeated, there should be no doubt in
anybody's mind that every day and night, the Iraqi government and our brave
men and women of the Armed Forces are taking the fight to the enemy; that
in spite of the fact that I am conducting a strategic review of the best
way forward in Iraq, there are a lot of operations taking place, day and
night.

Yesterday, the Secretary and the Vice President and General Pace and I were
on the SVTS with General Casey, and he's talking about the hard work our
troops and Iraqi troops are doing to defeat these enemies.

I do want to say something to those who wear our uniform. The men and women
in uniform are always on my mind. I am proud of them. I appreciate their
sacrifices. And I want them to know that I am focused on developing a
strategy that will help them achieve their mission. Oh, I know there's a
lot of debate here at home, and our troops pay attention to that debate.
They hear that I am meeting with the Pentagon or the State Department or
outside officials, that my National Security team and I are working closely
with Iraqi leaders, and they wonder what that means. Well, I'll tell you
what it means. It means I am listening to a lot of advice to develop a
strategy to help you succeed.

There's a lot of consultations taking place, and as I announced yesterday,
I will be delivering my -- my plans, after a long deliberation, after
steady deliberation. I'm not going to be rushed into making a difficult
decision, a necessary decision, to say to our troops, we're going to give
you the tools necessary to succeed and a strategy to help you succeed. I
also want the new Secretary of Defense to have time to evaluate the
situation, so he can provide serious and deliberate advice to me.

I do want our troops to understand this, though: that this government and
this group of military leaders are committed to a strategic goal of a free
Iraq that is democratic, that can govern itself, defend itself and sustain
itself, and be a strong ally in this war against radicals and extremists
who would do us harm; secondly, that our troops deserve the solid
commitment of the Commander-in-Chief and our political leaders and the
American people.

You have my unshakable commitment in this important fight to help secure
the peace for the long-term. I pledge to work with the new Congress to
forge greater bipartisan consensus to help you achieve your mission. I will
continue to speak about your bravery and your commitment and the sacrifices
of your families to the American people. We're not going to give up. The
stakes are too high and the consequences too grave to turn Iraq over to
extremists who want to do the American people and the Iraqi people harm.

I thank you for your service. I'm proud to be your Commander-in-Chief.
We'll honor the sacrifices you are making by making sure your children and
grandchildren can grow up in a more peaceful world.

God bless.

I'll take a couple of questions. AP man.

Q Mr. President, thank you. You've been gathering advice, as you said, from
leaders here and from leaders in Iraq. As you've gone through that
extensive process, have you heard any new ideas at all, anything that would
change your thinking?

THE PRESIDENT: I've heard some ideas that would lead to defeat, and I
reject those ideas -- ideas such as leaving before the job is done; ideas
such as not helping this government take the necessary and hard steps to be
able to do its job.

I've heard interesting ideas. I won't share them with you because I want to
make sure I continue to collect those ideas and put them together in a
strategy that our military and the commanders and our national security
team understands will lead to an Iraq that can govern and sustain and
defend itself.

I put off my speech -- actually, I was quite flexible about when I was
going to give my speech, to begin with -- and one of the main reasons why
is I really do want the new Secretary of Defense to have time to get to
know people and hear people and be a part of this deliberation. And he will
not be sworn in until next Monday. I also -- one of the interesting things
about this experience is that there's a lot of ideas and a lot of opinions.
And I want to make sure I hear from as many of those ideas and opinions as
possible.

Today I heard from some opinions that matter a lot to me, and these are the
opinions of those who wear the uniform. These generals have spent a lot of
time thinking about this issue. There's nobody who cares more about our
troops than they do, and nobody who wants us to achieve more -- than to
achieve our objectives than they do. And it was a fascinating discussion we
had. These are smart people and capable people, and people whose judgment I
listen to. And at the appropriate time, I will stand up in front of the
nation and say here's where we're headed.

But one thing people got to understand is we'll be headed toward achieving
our objectives. And I repeat, if we lose our nerve, if we're not steadfast
in our determination to help the Iraqi government succeed, we will be
handing Iraq over to an enemy that would do us harm, the consequences of
which -- of leaving Iraq before the job is done, for example, would be
grave for the American citizens.

As we learned on September the 11th, the enemy has got the capacity to
strike us. And there's no doubt in my mind a failure in Iraq would make it
more likely the enemy would strike us. It would certainly make it more
likely that moderate people around the Middle East would wonder about the
United States' will. Moderate people -- moderate governments in the Middle
East would be making irrational decisions about their future. It would be a
disaster for governments that have got energy resources to be in the hands
of these extremists. They would use energy to extract blackmail from the
United States. And when you couple all that with a regime that is --
doesn't like the United States having a nuclear weapon, you can imagine a
world of turmoil. And we're not going to let it happen.

Caren.

Q Thank you, sir. You said you would reject plans that would lead to
defeat. Would you put the Baker-Hamilton report in that category?

THE PRESIDENT: No, my opinion of Baker-Hamilton hasn't changed. One, I
appreciated their look. Secondly, I thought it was interesting that both
Democrats and Republicans could actually work in concert to help achieve an
objective. And the objective they stated that was necessary in their report
was a government that could defend itself, govern itself, sustain itself,
and serve as an ally in the war on terror. I thought there were some good
ideas in there. And I -- as I told both Baker and Hamilton and the American
people after I received the report, I take every one of their
considerations seriously.

Q As you give the new Defense Secretary time to get more in the mix, what
is the strategy that you're looking to build? Is it a military strategy for
success in Iraq, or a political one?

THE PRESIDENT: I think that our military cannot do this job alone. Our
military needs a political strategy that is effective. And that includes
things such an oil law passed by the Iraqis that basically says to the
people, all of you, regardless of where you live or your religion, get to
share in the bounty of our nation. It requires a reconciliation effort,
including a rational de-Baathification law.

Q That's not something you can do with your new strategy, is it?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely, I can do that with my strategy.
I mean, it is -- I can hold people to account. It's something the military
recognizes that they're not -- that's not their job, it's my job to
convince the Maliki government to make the hard decisions necessary to move
his country forward.

But the good news is, he agrees. In my conversations with him, I have said,
are you going to promote a unity government, or will you be so divisive in
your approach that you can't achieve the objectives that the Iraqi people
expect you to achieve? How do I know they expect to achieve? They voted; 12
million of them actually went to the polls and expressed their opinions.

And so there needs to be a political track. And we're working very hard
with the Maliki government to achieve that political track. That's what
I've been doing the last couple of days. As a matter of fact, today on the
telephone I spoke to the two Kurdish leaders. These men have been outspoken
about the desire to have a moderate governing coalition, which we support.
I met with the major Sunni leader yesterday, all talking about how we hope
that there is political reconciliation and a commitment to a political
process that says to the Iraqi people, you count; you matter for the future
of our country.

There needs to be an economic component. As you know, part of our
successful strategies in parts of Iraq have been based upon "clear, hold
and build." Well, "build" means getting projects up and running in key
parts of the country, so that people see the benefits of either working
with coalition forces, and/or the benefits of supporting a government. And
so this is much more than a military operation.

And finally, there's the foreign policy piece that's necessary. And we
spend a lot of time in our government talking to people like Saudi Arabia,
or Egypt, or Jordan, or Turkey, and sending messages, clear messages, to
countries like Syria and Iran. And I believe, for example, the Saudis are
committed to a government that will bring peace and stability, and that's a
unity government. It's in their interest they do so. And we're working hard
with them to figure out a strategy to help the Maliki government succeed.

I'm pleased when Iraqi leaders go to Saudi Arabia and talk to my friend,
the King of Saudi Arabia, and talk about how they can work together to
achieve stability. It's in Saudi's interest, it's in Jordan's interest,
it's in the Gulf Coast countries' interest that there be a stable Iran
[sic], an Iran [sic] that is capable of rejecting Iranian influence -- I
mean, Iraq that is capable of rejecting Iranian influence. It's in our
interests that we succeed in Iraq so that we can continue to send a clear
message to those in Iran that are desirous of a free society that freedom
is possible in your neighborhood.

And so the stakes are high in this fight. Nobody knows that better than the
gentlemen standing behind me. They clearly understand the stakes that are
confronted -- that confront this nation. And I am proud to have listened to
their points of view. And I'm proud to be working with them, as they help
lead the greatest military ever assembled -- a military, by the way, in
which we've got brave volunteers, people who understand the stakes of this
fight, saying, I want to be in, I want to serve my country.

It's a remarkable period in American history right now. And as I deliberate
the way forward, I keep in mind that we've got brave souls that need -- to
need to know that we're in this fight with a strategy to help them achieve
the objectives that we've got.

Listen, thank you all very much.

END 3:02 P.M. EST

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