Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is
victory. What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal.
Our commanders on the ground are constantly adjusting their approach to
stay ahead of the enemy, particularly in Baghdad. General Pete Pace, the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, recently put it this way: "From a military
standpoint, every day is a reassessment day." We have a strategy that
allows us to be flexible and to adapt to changing circumstances. We've
changed the way we train the Iraqi security forces. We have changed the
way we deliver reconstruction assistance in areas that have been cleared
of terrorist influence. And we will continue to be flexible, and make
every necessary change to prevail in this struggle.
Iraq's new leaders are beginning to take the difficult steps
necessary to defeat the terrorists and unite their country. The Prime
Minister recently met with tribal leaders from Anbar Province, who told
him they are ready to stand up and fight the terrorists. He's also taken
action to clean up the Iraqi national police. His government suspended a
national police unit after allegations that some of its members were
linked to militias and death squads. A battalion commander was arrested
for possible complicity in sectarian deaths. And earlier this week, two
of Iraq's most senior police commanders were reassigned as part of a
major restructuring of the national police force.
Another reason for the recent increase in attacks is that the
terrorists are trying to influence public opinion here in the United
States. They have a sophisticated propaganda strategy. They know they
cannot defeat us in the battle, so they conduct high-profile attacks,
hoping that the images of violence will demoralize our country and force
us to retreat. They carry video cameras and film their atrocities, and
broadcast them on the Internet. They e-mail images and video clips to
Middle Eastern cable networks like al-Jazeera, and instruct their
followers to send the same material to American journalists, authors,
and opinion leaders. They operate websites, where they post messages for
their followers and readers across the world.
In one recent message, the Global Islamic Media Front -- a group that
often posts al Qaeda propaganda on websites -- said their goal is to,
"carry out a media war that is parallel to the military war." This is
the same strategy the terrorists launched in Afghanistan following 9/11.
In a letter to the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden wrote
that al Qaeda intended to wage "a media campaign, to create a wedge
between the American people and their government."
The terrorists are trying to divide America and break our will, and
we must not allow them to succeed. So America will stand with the
democratic government of Iraq. We will help Prime Minister Maliki build
a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.
And we will help Iraq become a strong democracy that is a strong ally in
the war on terror.
There is one thing we will not do: We will not pull our troops off
the battlefield before the mission is complete. There are some in
Washington who argue that retreating from Iraq would make us safer. I
disagree. Retreating from Iraq would allow the terrorists to gain a new
safe haven from which to launch new attacks on America. Retreating from
Iraq would dishonor the men and women who have given their lives in that
country, and mean their sacrifice has been in vain. And retreating from
Iraq would embolden the terrorists, and make our country, our friends,
and our allies more vulnerable to new attacks.
The last few weeks have been rough for our troops in Iraq, and for
the Iraqi people. The fighting is difficult, but our Nation has seen
difficult fights before. In World War II and the Cold War, earlier
generations of Americans sacrificed so that we can live in freedom. This
generation will do its duty as well. We will defeat the terrorists
everywhere they make their stand, and we will leave a more hopeful world
for our children and our grandchildren.
Thank you for listening. |