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Skriven 2007-07-25 23:30:52 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0707252) for Wed, 2007 Jul 25
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Setting the Record Straight: Targeting Al Qaeda
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For Immediate Release July 25, 2007

Setting the Record Straight: Targeting Al Qaeda President Bush Discussed
The Importance Of Defeating Al Qaeda In Iraq In More Than 40 Public
Appearances This Year

˙˙White House News

˙˙˙˙˙ Setting the Record Straight

_President Bush has consistently argued that Iraq is the central front in
the War on Terror.˙ Al Qaeda leaders describe it the same way, which is why
they are trying to use murder and mayhem to provoke sectarian violence,
foment chaos, and create a safe haven for terror.˙ Defeating al Qaeda has
been central to our new strategy in Iraq from day one and will continue to
be._

- White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, 7/25/07

CBS News Says President Bush's Rationale For War In Iraq Is "New," "Clearly
Shifting," And "A Clear Contradiction Of" His January 10 Address To The
Nation

CBS's "Evening News": KATIE COURIC: "President Bush appealed again today
for more time for his Iraq strategy to work, but this time with a new
rationale."˙ JIM AXELROD: "_President Bush's rationale is clearly shifting
from policing sectarian violence to targeting al Qaeda _ the President
linked Al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq directly to Osama Bin Laden _ But this
is a clear contradiction of the January speech setting limits on US
involvement." ˙(CBS's "Evening News," 7/24/07)

President Bush Is Not _Shifting_ His Rationale "From Policing Sectarian
Violence To Targeting Al Qaeda"

Yesterday, The President Said˙One Reason The Intelligence Community Judges
Al Qaeda In Iraq To Be So Dangerous˙Is That They Aim To "Accelerate
Sectarian Violence." THE PRESIDENT: "But our intelligence community
believes that al Qaeda is the most dangerous of these Sunni jihadist groups
for several reasons:˙ First, more than any other group, al Qaeda is behind
most of the spectacular, high-casualty attacks that you see on your TV
screens.˙ Second, these al Qaeda attacks are designed to accelerate
sectarian violence, by attacking Shia in hopes of sparking reprisal attacks
that inspire Sunnis to join al Qaeda's cause." (President George W. Bush,
Remarks On The Global War On Terror, Charleston, SC, 7/24/07)

The President Was Not Laying Out˙A "New" Rationale From January.˙ He
Discussed The Al Qaeda In Iraq Threat On January 10 And In More Than 40
Public Appearances Since:

January 10: "Al Qaeda is still active in Iraq. _ 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." (President George W. Bush, Address
To The Nation, The White House, 1/10/07)

January 11: "It's important for the American people to understand al Qaeda
still is in Iraq. _These are the same folks that came and killed about
3,000 of our citizens.˙ Their goal in Iraq is to topple the government,
topple democracy." (President George W. Bush, Remarks To Military Personnel
And Families, Fort Benning, GA, 1/11/07)

January 13: "_America will step up the fight against al Qaeda in its home
base in Iraq  Anbar province." (President George W. Bush, Radio Address To
The Nation, 1/13/07)

January 16: "It's important for the American people to understand it is al
Qaeda that is doing a lot of these spectacular bombings.˙ Why?˙ Because
they want a safe haven.˙ They still have ambitions about hurting America."
(President George W. Bush, Interview With PBS's Jim Lehrer, 1/16/07)

January 23: "We didn't drive al Qaeda out of their safe haven in
Afghanistan only to let them set up a new safe haven in a free Iraq."
(President George W. Bush, State Of The Union Address, Washington, DC,
1/23/07)

January 29: "And the violence is caused by Sunni Arabs, like al Qaeda, who
have made it clear that they want to create chaos and drive the United
States out so they can have safe haven, and then they could launch attacks
against America." (NPR's "Morning Edition," 1/29/07)

February 12: "You'll see a society that I just described _ one which
rejects extremism and violence and does not allow a group like al Qaeda to
find safe haven within their borders." (President George W. Bush, Interview
With C-SPAN's Steve Scully, 2/12/07)

February 14: "There is an al Qaeda presence in Iraq, as you know.˙ I
believe some of the spectacular bombings have been caused by al Qaeda."
(President George W. Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 2/14/07)

March 6: "This strategy is going to take time.˙ And we can expect al Qaeda
and other extremists to try to derail the strategy by launching spectacular
attacks." (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The American Legion,
Washington, D.C., 3/6/07)

March 19: "Together, we've carried out aggressive operations against both
Shia and Sunni extremists; carried out operations against al Qaeda
terrorists.˙ We've uncovered large caches of weapons and destroyed two
major car bomb factories that were located on the outskirts of Baghdad."
(President George W. Bush, Statement On The 4th Anniversary Of The Invasion
Of Iraq, The White House, 3/19/07)

March 28: "It's interesting, I mentioned al Qaeda; al Qaeda wants us to
fail in Iraq.˙ This is what their leaders have clearly said, and they're
willing to kill innocent women and children to achieve their objectives."
(President George W. Bush, Remarks To The National Cattleman's Beef
Association, Washington, D.C., 3/28/07)

April 4: "We're after al Qaeda.˙ After all, al Qaeda wants us to fail
because they can't stand the thought of a free society in their midst."
(President George W. Bush, Remarks, Fort Irwin, CA, 4/4/07)

April 10: "A minority  and I emphasize 'minority'  of violent extremists
have declared that they want to turn that country into a terrorist base
from which to launch an ideological war in the Middle East and attacks on
the United States of America.˙ That is the stated objective of al Qaeda in
Iraq." (President George W. Bush, Remarks On The Iraq War Supplemental,
Fairfax, VA, 4/10/07)

April 19: "Our objective is to deny them safe haven, is to prevent al Qaeda
from being able to do in Iraq that which they did in Afghanistan, which is
where they trained thousands of young men to come and kill  to eventually
kill innocent people." (President George W. Bush, Remarks On The Global War
On Terror, Tipp City, OH, 4/19/07)

April 20: "It's important for all Iraqis  Sunnis and Shia alike  to
understand that al Qaeda is the greatest threat to peace in their country.˙
And the question is whether we and the Iraqis will give in, and to respond
the way al Qaeda wants." (President George W. Bush, Remarks On The Global
War On Terror, East Grand Rapids, MI, 4/20/07)

April 24: "We know what could happen next.˙ Just as al Qaeda used
Afghanistan as a base to plan attacks of September the 11th, al Qaeda could
make Iraq a base to plan even more deadly attacks." (President George W.
Bush, Statement On The Iraq War Supplemental, The White House, 4/24/07)

April 25: "Look, he's deeply concerned about al Qaeda influence.˙ I believe
that most of these spectacular bombings we're seeing are  have the
hallmark of al Qaeda.˙ They understand that a free Iraq is not in their
interest." (PBS's "The Charlie Rose Show," 4/25/07)

May 1: "Our main enemy is al Qaeda and its affiliates.˙ Their allies choose
their victims indiscriminately.˙ They murder the innocent to advance a
focused and clear ideology." (President George W. Bush, Remarks To CENTCOM
Coalition Conference, Tampa, FL, 5/1/07)

May 1: "These attacks are largely the work of al Qaeda  the enemy that
everyone agrees we should be fighting. ˙The objective of these al Qaeda
attacks is to subvert our efforts by reigniting the sectarian violence in
Baghdad  and breaking support for the war here at home." (President George
W. Bush, Statement On The Iraq War Supplemental, The White House, 5/1/07)

May 2: "The primary reason for the high level of violence is this:˙ al
Qaeda has ratcheted up its campaign of high-profile attacks, including
deadly suicide bombers carried out by foreign terrorists." (President
George W. Bush, Remarks To The Associated General Contractors Of America,
Washington, D.C., 5/2/07)

May 5: "The al Qaeda terrorists who behead captives or order suicide
bombings would not be satisfied to see America defeated and gone from
Iraq.˙ They would be emboldened by their victory, protected by their new
sanctuary, eager to impose their hateful vision on surrounding countries,
and eager to harm Americans." (President George W. Bush, Radio Address To
The Nation, 5/5/07)

May 10: "As we have surged our forces, al Qaeda is responding with their
own surge.˙ Al Qaeda is ratcheting up its campaign of high-profile attacks,
including deadly suicide bombings carried out by foreign terrorists."
(President George W. Bush, Statement After U.S. Department Of Defense
Briefings, The Pentagon, 5/10/07)

May 10: "The enemy we face in Iraq is a multifaceted enemy.˙ But the enemy
that's causing the car bombs, the enemy that is causing the spectacular
deaths of the innocent is al Qaeda, the very same people that launched the
attacks that killed nearly 3,000 citizens on our soul  soil." (President
George W. Bush, Remarks At The Republican National Committee Gala, 5/10/07)

May 21: "And al Qaeda, in particular, will be emboldened.˙ I'm giving a
speech on Wednesday reminding people al Qaeda is public enemy number one in
Iraq and is public enemy number one for America." (President George W.
Bush, Interview With Reuters' Steve Holland, 5/21/07)

May 23: "Bin Laden is matching his words with action.˙ He attempted to send
a new commander to Iraq, an Iraqi-born terrorist named Abd al-Hadi
al-Iraqi.˙ According to our intelligence community, this terrorist had been
a senior advisor to bin Laden, he served as his top commander in
Afghanistan, he was responsible for all al Qaeda's military operations
against our coalition in that country." (President George W. Bush, Remarks
At The United States Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, 5/23/07)

May 24: "[A]l Qaeda fully understands that if we retreat they, then, are
able to have another safe haven, in their mind.˙ Yesterday, in my speech, I
quoted quotes from Osama bin Laden.˙ And the reason I did was, is that I
want the American people to hear what he has to say_" (President George W.
Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 5/24/07)

May 30: "Many of the spectacular bombings you see are inspired and done by
al Qaeda.˙ As General Petraeus said, public enemy number one in Iraq is al
Qaeda; public enemy number one in the United States of America is al
Qaeda.˙ We must defeat al Qaeda there so we don't have to face them here."
(President George W. Bush, Remarks At The New Jersey Republican Committee
Reception, Lakewood, NJ, 5/30/07)

May 31: "David Petraeus said, public enemy number one in Iraq is al Qaeda.˙
Al Qaeda happens to be public enemy number one in America, too.˙ And that
should say loud and clear to citizens who still remember the lessons of
September the 11th that it's in our interest to help the Iraqis defeat al
Qaeda." (President George W. Bush, Remarks With Iraq President Jalal
Talabani, The White House, 5/31/07)

June 6: "What's difficult is the fact that al Qaeda continues to kill.˙ And
it frustrates the Iraqi people, and it should frighten the American people
that al Qaeda is active in Iraq looking for a safe haven from which to
launch further attacks." (President George W. Bush, Remarks In Roundtable
With Travel Pool, Heiligendamm, Germany, 6/6/07)

June 13: "It is interesting that David Petraeus, our commander on the
ground, has declared that al Qaeda is the number-one enemy to the people of
Iraq.˙ Well, al Qaeda also happens to be the number one enemy to the people
of the United States.˙ And what does that tell you?˙ It tells you that
you've got to succeed." (President George W. Bush, Remarks At 2007
President's Dinner, Washington, D.C. 6/13/07)

June 14: "If we withdraw before the Iraqi government can defend itself, we
would leave a dangerous security vacuum, which extremist forces, like al
Qaeda, would compete to fill." (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The
Associated Builders And Contractors, Washington, D.C., 6/14/07)

June 19: "Al Qaeda, the people that killed nearly 3,000 of our people here
in the United States, are conducting major car bombs and acts of
unspeakable violence in Iraq, trying to drive us out, because they want to
impose their vision on the Iraqi people." (President George W. Bush,
Remarks With Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, The White House, 6/19/07)

June 21: "Most of the suicide bombings and the most horrific of bombings
are perpetrated on the Iraqi people by al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is the same bunch
that attacked us on September the 11th and killed nearly 3,000 people."
(President George W. Bush, Remarks At Friends Of Jeff Sessions Senate
Committee Reception, Mobile, AL, 6/21/07)

June 28: "To the west and northwest of Baghdad, Operation Phantom Thunder
is going after al Qaeda's remaining outposts in Anbar.˙ We're taking the
fight to areas around Karmah  it's a known transit point for al Qaeda
fighters." (President George W. Bush, Remarks At The Naval War College,
Newport, RI, 6/28/07)

June 30: "We're engaging the enemy, and killing or capturing hundreds.˙
Just this week, our commanders reported the killing of two senior al Qaeda
leaders north of Baghdad." (President George W. Bush, Radio Address To The
Nation, 6/30/07)

July 4: "Many of the spectacular car bombings and killings you see are as a
result of al Qaeda  the very same folks that attacked us on September the
11th.˙ A major enemy in Iraq is the same enemy that dared attack the United
States on that fateful day." (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The West
Virginia Air National Guard, Martinsburg, WV, 7/4/07)

July 10: "[A]l Qaeda is doing most of the spectacular bombings, trying to
incite sectarian violence.˙ The same people that attacked us on September
the 11th is the crowd that is now bombing people, killing innocent men,
women and children, many of whom are Muslims, trying to stop the advance of
a system based upon liberty." (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The
Greater Cleveland Partnership, Cleveland, OH, 7/10/07)

July 12: "[A]l Qaeda in Iraq, has sworn allegiance to Osama bin Laden.˙ And
we need to take al Qaeda in Iraq seriously, just like we need to take al
Qaeda anywhere in the world seriously." (President George W. Bush, Press
Conference, The White House, 7/12/07)

July 14: "To begin to bring troops home before our commanders tell us we
are ready would be dangerous for our country.˙ It would mean surrendering
the future of Iraq to al Qaeda, risking a humanitarian catastrophe, and
allowing the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq and gain control
of vast oil resources they could use to fund new attacks on America."
(President George W. Bush, Radio Address To The Nation, 7/14/07)

July 16: "And the struggle is playing out in Iraq  where al Qaeda,
insurgents, and militia are trying to defy the will of nearly 12 million
Iraqis who voted for a free future." (President George W. Bush, Remarks On
The Middle East, The White House, 7/16/07)

July 19: "[P]eople ask me, are these really al Qaeda?˙ Well, they have
sworn allegiance to Osama bin Laden; what else are they?˙ They are
cold-blooded killers who have declared publicly that they would like to
drive us out of Iraq to develop a safe haven from which to launch further
attacks." (President George W. Bush, Remarks On The Budget, Nashville, TN,
7/19/07)

July 24: "Al Qaeda in Iraq is a group founded by foreign terrorists, led
largely by foreign terrorists, and loyal to a foreign terrorist leader 
Osama bin Laden.˙ They know they're al Qaeda.˙ The Iraqi people know they
are al Qaeda.˙ People across the Muslim world know they are al Qaeda.˙ And
there's a good reason they are called al Qaeda in Iraq:˙ They are al Qaeda
_ in _ Iraq." (President George W. Bush, Remarks On The Global War On
Terror, Charleston, SC, 7/24/07)

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