THE
PRESIDENT: Thanks for the warm welcome. Cliff, thanks for the
introduction. It's a pleasure to be with the Foundation for the Defense
of Democracies. This organization was formed in the wake of the
September the 11th attacks to fight the ideologies that drive terrorism.
You recognized immediately that the war on terror is a struggle between
freedom and tyranny -- and that the path to lasting security is to
defeat the hateful vision the terrorists are spreading with the hope of
freedom and democracy.
The Foundation is making a difference across the world, and I
appreciate the difference you're making. You have trained Iraqi women
and Iranian students in the principles and practice of democracy, you've
translated "democracy readers" into Arabic for distribution across the
broader Middle East, you've helped activists across the region organize
effective political movements -- so they can help bring about democratic
change and ensure the survival of liberty in new democracies. By
promoting democratic ideals, and training a new generation of democratic
leaders in the Middle East, you are helping us to bring victory in the
war on terror -- and I thank you for your hard work in freedom's cause.
I also want to thank the members of the board of the Foundation for
the Defense of the Democracies. I want to thank Steve Trachtenberg, the
President of George Washington University, and his wife, Fran, for
joining us today. Thanks for letting me come to your campus. I'm honored
to be here. He informed me that my dad will be giving the graduation
speech this year. (Laughter.) And Mother is getting an honorary degree.
(Laughter.) Smart man. (Laughter and applause.) Mr. Secretary, thanks
for joining us. I'm proud that Secretary Rumsfeld is with us.
I want to thank Senator Dick Lugar for being with us today. Mr.
Chairman, proud you're here. Thanks for coming. I want to thank the
members of the United States Congress who have joined us. Congressman
Lungren, Adam Schiff, Joe Wilson, Tom Cole and Dan Boren. I appreciate
you all taking time to be here today, it means a lot. I want to thank
the ambassadors who have joined us. I see two for certain, one from
Jordan and one from Israel. Proud you both are here. If there's any
ambassadors here, I apologize for not introducing you, and you don't
have as good a seat as these two guys. (Laughter.)
The mission of this Foundation is to defeat terror by promoting
democracy -- and that is the mission of my administration. Our strategy
to protect America is based on a clear premise: the security of our
nation depends on the advance of liberty in other nations. On September
the 11th, 2001, we saw that problems originating in a failed and
oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and destruction to
our country. We saw that dictatorships shelter terrorists, feed
resentment and radicalism, and threaten the security of free nations.
Democracies replace resentment with hope, democracies respect the rights
of their citizens and their neighbors, democracies join the fight
against terror. And so America is committed to an historic, long-term
goal: To secure the peace of the world, we seek the end of tyranny in
our world.
We are making progress in the march of freedom -- and some of the
most important progress has taken place in a region that has not known
the blessings of liberty: the broader Middle East. Two weeks ago, I got
a chance to visit Afghanistan and to see firsthand the transformation
that has taken place in that country. Before September the 11th, 2001,
Afghanistan was ruled by a cruel regime that oppressed its people,
brutalized women, and gave safe haven to the terrorists who attacked
America.
Today, the terror camps have been shut down, women are working, boys
and girls are going to school, Afghans have voted in free elections --
25 million people have had the taste of freedom. Taliban and al Qaeda
remnants continue to fight Afghanistan's democratic progress. In recent
weeks, they have launched new attacks that have killed Afghan civilians
and coalition forces. The United States and our allies will stay in the
fight against the terrorists, and we'll train Afghan soldiers and police
so they can defend their country. The Afghan people are building a
vibrant young democracy that is an ally in the war on terror -- and
America is proud to have such a determined partner in the cause of
freedom. (Applause.)
Next week, we will mark the three-year anniversary of the start of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. In less than three years, the Iraqi people have
gone from living under the boot of a brutal tyrant, to liberation, to
sovereignty, to free elections, to a constitutional referendum, and last
December, to elections for a fully constitutional government. In those
December elections, over 11 million Iraqis -- more than 75 percent of
the Iraqi voting age population -- defied the terrorists to cast their
ballots.
Americans were inspired by the images of Iraqis bringing elderly
relatives to the polls, holding up purple ink-stained fingers, dancing
in the streets and celebrating their freedom. By their courage, the
Iraqi people have spoken and made their intentions clear: they want to
live in democracy -- and they are determined to shape their own destiny.
The past few weeks, the world has seen very different images from
Iraq -- images of violence, and anger, and despair. We have seen a great
house of worship -- the Golden Mosque of Samarra -- in ruins after a
brutal terrorist attack. We've seen mass protests in response to
provocation. We've seen reprisal attacks by armed militias on Sunni
mosques -- and random violence that has taken the lives of hundreds of
Iraqi citizens.
The terrorists attacked the Golden Mosque for a reason: They know
that they lack the military strength to challenge Iraqi and coalition
forces directly -- so their only hope is to try and provoke a civil war.
So they attacked one of Shia Islam's holiest sites, hoping to incite
violence that would drive Iraqis apart and stop their progress on the
path to a free society.
Immediately after the attack, I said that Iraq faced a moment of
choosing -- and in the days that followed, the Iraqi people made their
choice. They looked into the abyss and did not like what they saw. After
the bombing, most Iraqis saw what the perpetuators [sic] of this attack
were trying to do: The enemy had failed to stop the January 2005
elections, they failed to stop the constitutional referendum, they
failed to stop the December elections, and now they're trying to stop
the formation of a unity government. By their response over the past two
weeks, Iraqis have shown the world they want a future of freedom and
peace -- and they will oppose a violent minority that seeks to take that
future away from them by tearing their country apart.
The situation in Iraq is still tense and we're still seeing acts of
sectarian violence and reprisal. Yet out of this crisis, we've also seen
signs of a hopeful future. We saw the restraint of the Iraqi people in
the face of massive provocation. Most Iraqis did not turn to violence,
and many chose to show their solidarity by coming together in joint
Sunni and Shia prayer services. We saw the leadership of Sunni and Shia
clerics who joined together to denounce the bombing and call for
restraint. Ayatollah Sistani issued a strong statement denouncing what
he called "sectarian sedition," and he urged all Iraqis -- in his words
-- "not to be dragged into committing acts that would only please the
enemies." We saw the capability of the Iraqi security forces, who
deployed to protect religious sites, enforce a curfew, and restore civil
order. We saw the determination of many of Iraq's leaders, who rose to
the moment, came together, and acted decisively to diffuse the crisis.
Iraq's leaders know that this is not the last time they will be
called to stand together in the face of an outrageous terrorist attack.
Iraq's leaders know that they must put aside their differences, reach
out across political, religious, and sectarian lines, and form a unity
government that will earn the trust and the confidence of all Iraqis.
Iraqis now have a chance to show the world that they have learned the
lesson of Samarra: A country that divides into factions and dwells on
old grievances risks sliding back into tyranny. The only path to a
future of peace is the path of unity.
Soon the new parliament will be seated in Baghdad, and this will
begin the process of forming a government. Forming a new government will
demand negotiation and compromise by the Iraqis; it will require
patience by America and our coalition allies.
In the weeks ahead, Americans will likely see a good deal of
political maneuvering in Iraq -- as different factions and leaders
advance competing agendas and seek their share of political power. Out
of this process, a free government will emerge that represents the will
of the Iraqi people -- instead of the will of one cruel dictator.
The work ahead in Iraq is hard -- and there will be more difficult
moments. The Samarra attack was a clear attempt to ignite a civil war.
And we can expect the enemy will try again -- and they will continue to
sow violence and destruction designed to stop the emergence of a free
and democratic Iraq.
The enemies of a free Iraq are determined -- yet so are the Iraqi
people. And so are America and coalition partners. We will not lose our
nerve. We will help the Iraqi people succeed. Our goal in Iraq is
victory -- and victory will be achieved when the terrorists and
Saddamists can no longer threaten Iraq's democracy, when the Iraqi
security forces can provide for the safety of their own citizens, and
when Iraq is not a safe haven for terrorists to plot new attacks against
our nation.
We have a comprehensive strategy for victory in Iraq -- a strategy I
laid out in a series of speeches last year. Our strategy has three
elements: On the political side, we are helping Iraqis build a strong
democracy, so that old resentments will be eased, and the insurgency
marginalized. On the economic side, we are continuing reconstruction
efforts and helping Iraqis build a modern economy that will give all its
citizens a stake in a free and peaceful Iraq. And on the security side,
we are striking terrorist targets and training the Iraqi security forces
-- which are taking responsibility for more Iraqi territory and becoming
increasingly capable of defeating the enemy.
In the coming weeks, I will update the American people on our
strategy -- the progress we are making, the lessons we have learned from
our experiences, and how we are fixing what hasn't worked. Today, I will
discuss the third element of our strategy -- the progress of our efforts
to defeat the terrorists and train the Iraqi security forces so they can
take the lead in defending their own democracy.
At the end of last year, I described in detail many of the changes we
have made to improve the training of Iraqi security forces -- and we saw
the fruits of those changes in recent days in Iraq. After the Samarra
bombings, it was the Iraqi security forces -- not coalition forces --
that restored order. In the hours after the attack, Iraqi leaders put
the Iraqi security forces on alert -- canceling all leaves, and
heightening security around mosques and critical sites. Using security
plans developed for the December elections, they deployed Iraqi forces
in Baghdad and other trouble spots.
Iraqi police manned checkpoints, increased patrols, and ensured that
peaceful demonstrators were protected -- while those who turned to
violence were arrested. Public order brigades deployed as rapid reaction
forces to areas where violence was reported. The 9th Mechanized Division
of the Iraqi Army, which was in the midst of a major training event,
regrouped and entered the Baghdad City Gates -- taking up assigned
positions throughout the city with T-72 tanks and armored infantry
vehicles. During the past two weeks, Iraqi security forces conducted
more than 200 independent operations -- each of them Iraqi-planned,
Iraqi-conducted, and Iraqi-led.
Having Iraqi forces in the lead has been critical to preventing
violence from spinning out of control. For example, on the day of the
Samarra bombing, the Iraqi national police responded to an armed
demonstration in an area immediately adjacent to Sadr City -- where an
angry Shia crowd had surrounded the Sunni Al Quds Mosque. The Iraqi
Brigade Commander placed his troops -- who were largely Shia -- between
the crowd and the mosque, and talked to the crowd using megaphones, and
calling for calm and urging them to disperse. After a two-hour standoff,
the crowd eventually left without incident -- and the national police
remained in position overnight to guard the Mosque until the threat was
over. The fact that Iraqis were in the lead and negotiating with their
own countrymen helped diffuse a potential confrontation -- and prevented
an escalation of violence.
In another Baghdad neighborhood, a similar situation unfolded: a
group of armed militia members had gone in and occupied the Al Nida
Mosque. An Iraqi Army brigade quickly arrived on the scene -- and the
Brigade Commander negotiated with the group and secured their peaceful
departure. Once again, because Iraqi forces spoke their language and
understood the culture, they were able to convince the Iraqi militia to
leave peacefully.
Not all Iraqi units performed as well as others -- and there were
some reports of Iraqi units in Eastern Baghdad allowing militia members
to pass through checkpoints. But American commanders are closely
watching the situation, and they report these incidents appear to be the
exception, not the rule. In the weeks since the bombing, the Iraqi
security forces turned in a strong performance. From the outset, Iraqi
forces understood that if they failed to stand for national unity, the
country would slip into anarchy. And so they have stood their ground,
and defended their democracy, and brought their nation through one of
its most difficult moments since liberation.
General Marty Dempsey, our top commander responsible for training the
Iraqis' security forces, says this about their performance: "They were
deliberate, poised, even-handed, and professional. They engaged local
tribal, political, and religious leaders. They patiently, but
deliberately confronted armed groups to let them know that they had
control of the situation." He went on to say, "I'm sure we will find
instances where they could have performed better, but in the face of
immense pressure, they performed very, very well." As a result of their
performance, the Iraqi security forces are gaining the confidence of the
Iraqi people. And as the Iraqi security forces make progress against the
enemy, their morale continues to increase.
When I reported on the progress of the Iraqi security forces last
year, I said that there were over 120 Iraqi and police combat battalions
[sic] in the fight against the enemy -- and 40 of those were taking the
lead in the fight. Today the number of battalions in the fight has
increased to more than 130 -- with more than 60 taking the lead. As more
Iraqi battalions come on line, these Iraqi forces are assuming
responsibility for more territory. Today, Iraqi units have primary
responsibility for more than 30,000 square miles of Iraq -- an increase
of roughly 20,000 square miles since the beginning of the year. And
Iraqi forces are now conducting more independent operations throughout
the country than do coalition forces.
This is real progress, but there is more work to be done this year.
Our commanders tell me that the Iraqi police still lag behind the Army
in training and capabilities -- so one of our major goals in 2006 is to
accelerate the training of the Iraqi police. One problem is that some
National Police units have been disproportionately Shia -- and there
have been some reports of infiltration of the national police by Shia
militias. And so we're taking a number of steps to correct this problem:
First, we have begun implementing a program that has been effective
with the Iraqi Army -- partnering U.S. battalions with the Iraqi
national police battalions. These U.S. forces are working with their
Iraqi counterparts -- giving them tactical training so they can defeat
the enemy. And they are also teaching them about the role of a
professional police force in a democratic system, so they can serve all
Iraqis without discrimination.
Second, we are working with the Iraqi leaders to find and remove any
leaders in the national police who show evidence of loyalties to
militia. For example, last year there were reports that the Second
Public Order Brigade contained members of an illegal militia, who were
committing abuses. So last December, the Interior Ministry leadership
removed the Second Brigade Commander, and replaced him with a new
commander -- who then dismissed more than a hundred men with suspected
militia ties. Today, this Iraqi police brigade has been transformed into
a capable, professional unit -- and during the recent crisis after the
Samarra bombing, they performed with courage and distinction.
Finally, we are working with Iraqis to diversify the ranks of the
national police, by recruiting more Sunni Arabs. For example, the basic
training class for the National Police Public Order forces that
graduated last October was less than one percent Sunni. The class
graduating in April will include many, many more Sunnis. By ensuring the
Public Order forces reflect the general population, Iraqis are making
the National Police a truly national institution -- one that is able to
serve, protect, and defend all the Iraqi people.
As more capable Iraqi police and soldiers come on line, they will
assume responsibility for more territory -- with the goal of having the
Iraqis control more territory than the coalition by the end of 2006. And
as Iraqis take over more territory, this frees American and Coalition
forces to concentrate on training and on hunting down high-value targets
like the terrorist Zarqawi and his associates. As Iraqis stand up,
America and our coalition will stand down. And my decisions on troop
levels will be made based upon the conditions on the ground, and the
recommendations of our military commanders -- not artificial timetables
set by politicians here in Washington, D.C.
These terrorists know they cannot defeat us militarily -- so they
have turned to the weapon of fear. And one of the most brutal weapons at
their disposal are improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
IEDs are bombs made from artillery shells, explosives, and other
munitions that can be hidden and detonated remotely. After the
terrorists were defeated in battles in Fallujah and Tall Afar, they saw
that they could not confront Iraqi or American forces in pitched battles
and survive. And so they turned to IEDs -- a weapon that allows them to
attack us from a safe distance, without having to face our forces in
battle.
The principal victims of IED attacks are innocent Iraqis. The
terrorists and insurgents have used IEDs to kill Iraqi children playing
in the streets, shoppers at Iraqi malls, and Iraqis lining up at police
and army recruiting stations. They use IEDs to strike terror in the
hearts of Iraqis, in an attempt to break their confidence in the free
future of their country.
The enemy is also using IEDs in their campaign against U.S. and
coalition forces in Iraq -- and we are harnessing every available
resource to deal with this threat. My administration has established a
new high-level organization at the Department of Defense, led by retired
four-star General Montgomery Meigs. On Saturday, General Meigs, along
with the Secretary of Defense, briefed me at the White House on our plan
to defeat the threat of IEDs. Our plan has three elements: targeting,
training, and technology.
The first part of our plan is targeting and eliminating the
terrorists and bomb makers. Across Iraq, we are on the hunt for the
enemy -- capturing and killing the terrorists before they strike,
uncovering and disarming their weapons before they go off, and rooting
out and destroying bomb making cells so they can't produce more weapons.
Because the Iraqi people are the targets, primarily the targets of
the bombers, Iraqis are increasingly providing critical intelligence to
help us find the bomb-makers and stop new attacks. The number of tips
from Iraqis has grown from 400 last March to over 4,000 in December. For
example, just three weeks ago, acting on tips provided by local
citizens, coalition forces uncovered a massive IED arsenal hidden in a
location northwest of Baghdad. They found and confiscated more than
3,000 pieces of munitions -- in one of the largest weapons caches
discovered in that region to date. Just two weeks ago, acting on
intelligence from Iraqis, coalition forces uncovered a bomb-making
facility northeast of Fallujah. They captured 61 terrorists at the
facility and confiscated large numbers of weapons.
In all, during the past six months, Iraqi and coalition forces have
found and cleared nearly 4,000 IEDs, uncovered more than 1,800 weapons
caches and bomb-making plants, and killed or detained hundreds of
terrorists and bomb-makers. We're on the hunt for the enemy -- and we're
not going to rest until they've been defeated.
The second part of our plan is to give our forces specialized
training to identify and clear IEDs before they explode. Before arriving
in Iraq and Afghanistan, our combat units get training on how to counter
the threat of IEDs. And to improve our training, last month we
established a new IED Joint Center of Excellence headquartered at Fort
Irwin, California -- where we're taking lessons learned from the IED
fight in Iraq, and sharing them with our troops in the field and those
preparing to deploy. This new initiative will ensure that every Army and
Marine combat unit headed to Afghanistan and Iraq is prepared for the
challenges that IEDs bring to the battlefield.
Before deploying, our troops will train with the equipment they will
use in the IED fight, they'll study enemy tactics, and experience live
fire training that closely mirrors what they will see when they arrive
in the zone of combat. Our goal with this training is to ensure that
when our forces encounter the enemy, that they're ready.
The third part of our plan is to develop new technologies to defend
against IEDs. We are putting the best minds in America to work on this
effort. The Department of Defense recently gathered some -- gathered 600
leaders from industry and academia, the national laboratories, the
National Academy of Sciences, all branches of the military, and every
relevant government agency to discuss technology solutions to the IED
threat. We now have nearly a hundred projects underway. For security
reasons, I'm not going to share the details of the technologies we're
developing. The simple reason is, the enemy can use even the smallest
details to overcome our defenses.
Earlier this year, a newspaper published details of a new anti-IED
technology that was being developed. Within five days of the publication
-- using details from that article -- the enemy had posted instructions
for defeating this new technology on the Internet. We cannot let the
enemy know how we're working to defeat him. But I can assure the
American people that my administration is working to put the best
technology in the hands of our men and women on the front lines -- and
we are mobilizing resources against the IED threat.
I assured General Meigs that he will have the funding and personnel
he needs to succeed. In 2004, the administration spent $150 million to
fight the IED threat. This year, we're providing $3.3 billion to support
our efforts to defeat IEDs. These investments are making a difference.
Today, nearly half of the IEDs in Iraq are found and disabled before
they can be detonated. In the past 18 months, we've cut the casualty
rate per IED attack in half. More work needs to be done. Yet by
targeting the bomb-makers, and training our forces, and deploying new
technologies, we will stay ahead of the enemy, and that will save Iraqi
and American lives.
Some of the most powerful IEDs we're seeing in Iraq today includes
components that came from Iran. Our Director of National Intelligence,
John Negroponte, told the Congress, "Tehran has been responsible for at
least some of the increasing lethality of anti-coalition attacks by
providing Shia militia with the capability to build improvised explosive
devises" in Iraq. Coalition forces have seized IEDs and components that
were clearly produced in Iran. Such actions -- along with Iran's support
for terrorism and its pursuit of nuclear weapons -- are increasingly
isolating Iran, and America will continue to rally the world to confront
these threats. (Applause.)
We still have difficult work ahead in Iraq. I wish I could tell you
that the violence is waning and that the road ahead will be smooth. It
will not. There will be more tough fighting and more days of struggle --
and we will see more images of chaos and carnage in the days and months
to come. The terrorists are losing on the field of battle, so they are
fighting this war through the pictures we see on television and in the
newspapers every day. They're hoping to shake our resolve and force us
to retreat. They are not going to succeed. (Applause.)
The battle lines in Iraq are clearly drawn for the world to see, and
there is no middle ground. The enemy will emerge from Iraq one of two
ways: emboldened or defeated. The stakes in Iraq are high. By helping
Iraqis build a democracy, we will deny the terrorists a safe haven to
plan attacks against America. By helping Iraqis build a democracy, we
will gain an ally in the war on terror. By helping Iraqis build a
democracy, we will inspire reformers across the Middle East. And by
helping Iraqis build a democracy, we'll bring hope to a troubled region,
and this will make America more secure in the long-term.
Since the morning of September the 11th, we have known that the war
on terror would require great sacrifice -- and in this war we have said
farewell to some very good men and women. One of those courageous
Americans was Sergeant William Scott Kinzer, Jr., who was killed last
year by the terrorists while securing polling sites for the Iraqi
elections. His mom, Debbie, wrote me a letter. She said: "These words
are straight from a shattered but healing mother's heart. ... My son
made the decision to join the Army. He believed that what he was
involved in would eventually change Iraq and that those changes would be
recorded in history books for years to come. ... On his last visit
home... I asked him what I would ever do if something happened to him in
Iraq. He smiled at me with -- his blue eyes sparkled, as he said, 'Mom,
I love my job...If I should die I would die happy, does life get any
better than this?'" His mom went on: "Please do not let the voices we
hear the loudest change what you and Scott started in Iraq. Please do
not... let his dying be in vain. ... Don't let my son have given his all
for an unfinished job. ... Please...complete the mission."
I make this promise to Debbie, and all the families of the fallen
heroes: We will not let your loved ones dying be in vain. We will finish
what we started in Iraq. We will complete the mission. We will leave
behind a democracy that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend
itself. (Applause.) And a free Iraq, in the heart of the Middle East,
will make the American people more secure for generations to come.
May God bless the families of the fallen. May God bless our troops in
the fight. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.
(Applause.)