WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of
remarks by President Bush and President Talabani of Iraq in a press
availability:
The East Room
11:35 A.M. EDT
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all. It's an honor to welcome the first
democratically elected President of Iraq to the White House. I'm proud to
stand with a brave leader of the Iraqi people, a friend of the United States,
and a testament to the power of human freedom.
Mr. President, thank you for your leadership; thank you for your courage.
President Talabani has dedicated his life to the cause of liberty in Iraq.
As a lawyer, a journalist, and a political leader in Northern Iraq, he stood
up to a brutal dictator, because he believes that every Iraqi deserves the be
free. The dictator destroyed Kurdish villages, ordered poison gas attacks on
a Kurdish city, and violently repressed other religious and ethnic groups.
For President Talabani and his fellow citizens, the day Saddam was removed
from power was a day of deliverance. And America will always be proud that we
led the armies of liberation.
In the past two years, the Iraqi people have made their vision of their
future clear. This past January, more than 8 million Iraqis defied the car
bombers and the assassins and voted in free elections. It is an inspiring act
of unity when 80 percent of the elected National Assembly chose the President,
a member of Iraq's Kurdish minority, to lead the free nation.
In our meeting today, I congratulated the President on his election, and I
thanked him for his leadership on Iraq's draft constitution. The draft
constitution is an historic milestone. It protects fundamental freedoms,
including religion, assembly, conscience and expression. It calls for a
federal system of government, which is essential to preserving the unity of a
diverse nation like Iraq. It declares that all Iraqis are equal before the
law, without regard to gender, ethnicity, and religion.
The Iraqi people can be proud of the draft constitution, and when an
election to ratify that constitution is held next month, they will have a
chance to vote their conscience at the polls.
As the Iraqi people continue on the path to democracy, the enemies of
freedom remain brutal and determined. The killers in Iraq are the followers
of the same ideology as those who attacked America four years ago. Their
vision is for an Iraq that looks like Afghanistan under the Taliban; a society
where freedom is crushed, girls are denied schooling, and terrorists have a
safe haven to plot attacks on America and other free people.
To impose their hateful vision, our enemies know they must drive America
out of Iraq before the Iraqi people can secure their own freedom. They
believe we will retreat in the face of violence, so they're committing acts of
staggering brutality, murdering Iraqi children receiving candy, or hospital
workers treating the wounded. We have no doubt that our enemies will continue
to kill. Yet we also know they cannot achieve their aims unless we lose our
resolve.
Today, Mr. President, I pledge that we will not waver. And I appreciate
your same pledge. Iraq will take its place among the world's democracies.
The enemies of freedom will be defeated.
President Talabani and I discussed our strategy for the months ahead.
America will stand with the Iraqi people as they move forward with the
democratic process. We're seeing hopeful developments in places like Fallujah
and Ramadi and Mosul, where Iraqis are registering to vote, many for the first
time -- well, obviously, for the first time.
At the same time, American troops will stay on the offensive, alongside
Iraqi security forces, to hunt down our common enemies. At this hour,
American and Iraqi forces are conducting joint operations to rout out
terrorists and insurgents in Tall Afar. Our objective is to defeat the
enemies of a free Iraq, and we're working to prepare more Iraqi forces to join
the fight. As Iraqis stand up, Americans will stand down. And when the
mission is complete, our troops will come home, with the honor they have
earned.
Tomorrow, President Talabani and I will take our seats at the United
Nations in New York. The session will mark the first time in a half-century
that Iraq is represented by a freely elected government.
Securing freedom in Iraq has required great sacrifice, Mr. President. You
know that better than anybody. And there's going to be difficult days ahead.
Yet I have no doubt about the impact of a democratic Iraq on the rest of the
world. As Iraq becomes a federal, unified democracy, people throughout the
broader Middle East will demand their own liberty. The Middle East will
become more peaceful, and America and the world become more secure.
We're proud to call you, friend, Mr. President, and proud to have you as
an ally in the war on terror. On behalf of the American people, I want to
thank you for Iraq's generous pledge of aid to the victims of Hurricane
Katrina. Welcome to the United States.
PRESIDENT TALABANI: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President, for your kind
remarks. It is honor for me to stand here today as a representative of free
Iraq. It is an honor to present the world's youngest democracy.
In the name of Iraqi people, I say to you, Mr. President, and to the
glorious American people, thank you, thank you. Thank you, because you
liberated us from the worst kind of dictatorship. Our people suffered too
much from this worst kind of dictatorship. The -- (inaudible) -- was hundred
thousand of Iraqi innocent children and women, young and old men. Thank you,
and thanks to the United States, there are now 15 million Muslims in
Afghanistan and Iraq liberated by your courageous leadership and decision to
liberate us, Mr. President.
We agree with Mr. President Bush that democracy is the solution to the
problems of the Middle East. Mr. President, you are a visionary, great
statesman. We salute you. We are grateful to you. We will never forget what
you have done for our people.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir.
PRESIDENT TALABANI: We have had a good discussion with Mr. President. We
are partners. We are proud to say openly and to repeat it that we are
partners of the United States of America in fighting against tyranny,
terrorism, and for democracy. It is something we are not shy to say and will
repeat it everywhere, here and in Iraq, and the United Nations and everywhere.
Iraq is America's ally in the war against terrorism. Our soldiers are now
fighting side-by-side with your brave soldiers, now and every day. We have
captured many senior elements of al Qaeda. We killed many of them, and we
have also many of them in our prisons.
With your support, we could create a society enjoying democracy for the
first time, obviously. Now Iraq is a free country. We have all kinds of
democracy, all kinds of freedom of expression of parties, groups, civil
society, organizations -- that we can say that our democracy is unique in the
Middle East.
Our strategy is solvent. We build democracy and defend democracy. We
talk about how we could improve our tactics. There is progress in security in
our country. The number of the -- (inaudible) -- reduced; the traces which
were under the full control of the terrorists are now liberated, and they're
now registering their names for the new election.
In the areas which were known that there was any of al Qaeda now became
the area of Iraq. And two important signals appeared in that area -- the
people started to -- (inaudible) -- and to fight terrorists. Now we have
Iraqi Arab tribes, Sunni tribes fighting terrorism and al Qaeda. We have also
people who are in -- (inaudible) -- who are cooperating with Iraqi forces,
and with American forces against terrorism. It is a good signal that our
people start to understand that terrorism is the enemy of Iraqi people before
becoming enemy of Americans. They are killing our civilians, or innocent
children. They are destroying our mosques -- church, everywhere, regardless
of what may happen to the people.
And we are now progressing gradually. Last year, for example --
(inaudible) -- a year ago, Najaf was a battlefield. Najaf is a holy city of
Shiites, the Vatican of the Shiites. Now Najaf is being rebuilt, is free, and
ruled by the elected committee, elected government.
There are still important security challenges we are neglecting. But we
are fighting al Qaeda. Now our fight in Tall Afar proved that the enemy is
going to be weakened and low morale. The fighting in Tall Afar was easy to
defeat the terrorists and to liberate the town.
The so-called jihadists want to impose oppression and dictatorship and
worst kind of society on our people. For that they are not only -- so they
are not only the enemy of Iraq, but they are the enemy of humanity, the enemy
of real Islam, and the enemy of all Middle East peoples. Together with our
American friends and partners, we will defeat them.
Today, American and international presence in Iraq is vital. The American
and international presence in Iraq is vital for democracy in Iraq and in the
Middle East, and also for prevent foreign interference in the internal affairs
of Iraq.
We will set no timetable for withdrawal, Mr. President. A timetable will
help the terrorists, will encourage them that they could defeat a superpower
of the world and the Iraqi people. We hope that by the end of 2006, our
security forces are up to the level of taking responsibility from many
American troops with complete agreement with Americans. We don't want to do
anything without the agreement with the Americans because we don't want to
give any signal to the terrorists that our will to defeat them is weakened, or
they can defeat us.
We are proud that one day will come -- as soon as possible, of course, we
hope -- that American troops can proudly return home, and we tell them, thank
you, dear friends, and you are faithful to friendship. Of course, we are
sorry for the sacrifices of American people in Iraq, but I think a great
people like America has a mission in the history -- they have sacrificed
hundreds of thousands of their sons in the war -- first world war, second
world war, and in liberating people in Afghanistan, Kurdistan. And the great
leader, Mr. George W. Bush is continuing the same mission of the American
people. We are grateful. We are grateful for American generosity, and we
honor -- we honor -- sacrifices of America in Iraq-- and everywhere, not only
in Iraq.
We also need our neighbors, at least some of them, to stop attacking Iraqi
democracy. We want them to join us in fighting against terrorism. We want
our Arab brothers -- (inaudible) -- media, at least the official media, to
support terrorism. We want them to stand with us against terrorism, because
terrorism is the enemy of all Arab and Muslim countries in the world.
But we will proceed, and we will remember those who helped us in our
struggle to establish a democracy in Iraq. And you are first those people who
supported us for this noble mission.
There is, in Iraq, political progress. We are talking taking the gun out
of Iraqi politics, for the first time. Iraqis will have -- speak in peaceful
dialogue, not with arms. The majority of Iraqis are committed to political
process. Iraq is a diverse country. They are mostly settling -- (inaudible)
-- peacefully.
We have agreed a draft constitution. Of course, it is not perfect
document, but I think it is one of the best constitutions in the Middle East.
Of course, we didn't solve all problems, we have some problems. We are still
suffering from many problems. But we are achieving progress on all fields --
economic, trade, education, political life. And we hope that we will remain
having the support of the United States, and yourself, Mr. President, and
other friends in Arab world and in Europe.
It is true we are a young democracy, but our draft constitution has a bill
of rights, ensures the equality of all Iraqis -- regardless of their gender,
creed, religion, or ethnicity. It enshrines the separation of powers, and
involves many checks and balances on the exercise of power. It is the best
constitution in the entire region, as we claim. We hope it will be correct.
We are reaching out to some other Iraqi citizens who were not able to
participate in the election -- I mean our Arab Sunni brothers. We tried to be
involved with them in the process. When the results of the election was
announced, the two main lists of alliance -- the Kurdistan Alliance and the
United Front of Iraq Shiite Alliance -- we got 238 votes, and the Assembly was
275. But, nevertheless, we tried to bring our Sunni Arabs to the government,
to participate. We elected a vice president, an Arab Sunni; two deputy prime
ministers; the Speaker of the House is a Sunni; and six ministers, among them,
two main posts, the Minister of Defense and Minister of Industry.
It means that we are anxious to have all Iraqis united, and to solve all
our problems through dialogue. We are calling all Iraqis to come to
participate in the democratic process and to say what they want, and they are
free to decide the government -- decide the President of Iraq, the Prime
Minister, the ministers, and they are able to say what they want through
democratic process, they can say their -- and demands.
This, of course, constitution is not perfect, but it can be amended in the
future, if the Iraqi people want this. But now, compared with others, we are
proud to have such a kind of constitution. Some of our brothers, Sunni Arabs,
are under the threat of terrorism. We will try our best to liberate them from
terrorism and from the violence.
To those in America, in other countries, still ask of war of liberation in
Iraq, if it was right -- the right decision. I say, please, please, come to
Iraq, to visit the mass graves, to see what happened to the Iraqi people, and
to see what now is going on in Iraq. To those who talk of stability, I say,
Saddam imposed the stability of the mass graves. To the terrorists, I say,
you will never win; freedom will win in Iraq.
Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
A couple of questions. Two a side. Nedra.
Q Mr. President, given what happened with Katrina, shouldn't Americans
be concerned if their government isn't prepared to respond to another disaster
or even a terrorist attack?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Katrina exposed serious problems in our response
capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal
government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to
know what went right and what went wrong. I want to know how to better
cooperate with state and local government, to be able to answer that very
question that you asked: Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack or
another severe storm. And that's a very important question. And it's in our
national interest that we find out exactly what went on and -- so that we can
better respond.
One thing for certain; having been down there three times and have seen
how hard people are working, I'm not going to defend the process going in, but
I am going to defend the people who are on the front line of saving lives.
Those Coast Guard kids pulling people out of the -- out of the floods are --
did heroic work. The first responders on the ground, whether they be state
folks or local folks, did everything they could. There's a lot of people that
are -- have done a lot of hard work to save lives.
And so I want to know what went right and what went wrong to address
those. But I also want people in America to understand how hard people are
working to save lives down there in not only New Orleans, but surrounding
parishes and along the Gulf Coast.
Mr. President, you want to call on somebody?
Q (Question is asked in Arabic.)
If I may, Mr. President, it's been a scathing attack from top officials
of your administration on Syria yesterday for allowing foreign fighters to
cross the border. We heard yesterday from Ambassador Khalilizad. Is this an
escalation on the pressure that you're putting on Syria? And what more can
you do when you say that all options are open?
PRESIDENT TALABANI: May I?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Please, yes. You might want to try it English.
(Laughter.)
PRESIDENT TALABANI: Well, I say it in Iraqi because the question was in
Arabic. (Answers the question in Arabic.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Oops. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT TALABANI: (Continues answering in Arabic.)
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not sure if I agree, or not, but -- (laughter.) The
Ambassador did speak strongly about Syria because he understands that the
Syrian government can do a lot more to prevent the flow of foreign fighters
into Iraq. These people are coming from Syria into Iraq and killing a lot of
innocent people. They're killing -- they're trying to kill our folks, as
well. And so, of course, he's speaking strongly about that.
And the Syrian leader must understand we take his lack of action
seriously. And the government is going to become more and more isolated as a
result of two things: one, not being cooperative with the Iraqi government, in
terms of securing Iraq; and two, not being fully transparent about what they
did in Lebanon.
And so we're going to work with our friends. And this is a subject of
conversation, of course, I'll have with allies in places like New York and
other times I communicate with our allies, that Syria must be a focus of
getting them to change their behavior, particularly as it regards to democracy
and trying to prevent democracies from emerging.
Toby.
Q Mr. President, do you believe at this point that Iran will be
referred to the U.N. Security Council to face possible sanctions over its
nuclear program? And how will you convince reluctant members like China that
this is the way forward?
PRESIDENT BUSH: There is still an IAEA process to go forward. And we
will work with our Ambassador at the IAEA, Ambassador Schulte, to continue to
press forward with a full disclosure about Iranian intentions so that then the
Security Council can make a -- determine the right policy to go forward.
I will bring the subject up with leaders whom I'll be meeting with today
and tomorrow and later on this week. I will be speaking candidly about Iran
with the -- Hu Jintao, as well as with President Putin, for example. Just
had a conversation with Tony Blair and the subject came up.
It is very important for the world to understand that Iran with a nuclear
weapon will be incredibly destabilizing. And, therefore, we must work
together to prevent them from having the wherewithal to develop a nuclear
weapon. It should be a warning to all of us that they have -- in the past,
didn't fully disclose their programs, their programs aimed at helping them
develop a weapon. They have insisted that they have a civilian nuclear
program, and I thought a rational approach to that would be to allow them to
receive enriched uranium from a third party under the guise of international
inspections that will enable them to have civilian nuclear power without
learning how to make a bomb.
Some of us are wondering why they need civilian nuclear power anyway.
They're awash with hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, it's a right of a government
to want to have a civilian nuclear program. And -- but there ought to be
guidelines in which they be allowed to have that civilian nuclear program.
And one such guideline would be in such a way that they don't gain the
expertise necessary to be able to enrich.
This is a subject of grave concern, and it's something that we're spending
a lot of time on in this administration. I want to applaud the Germans and
the French and the British for sticking together in developing a common
message to the Iranians. And now we'll see how the Iranians respond here on
their visit to the United States.
Final question, Mr. President.
Q Mr. President, I hope you will excuse me, since you've never had
Kurdish -- spoken Kurdish. I put my question in Kurdish. (Question asked in
Kurdish.)
PRESIDENT TALABANI: With your permission, Mr. President, he's from
America and his voice, American voice in Kurdish -- I must answer in Kurdish.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes. Answer his question -- perfect.
PRESIDENT TALABANI: (Question answered in Kurdish.)
THE PRESIDENT: On that cheery note, the press conference is over.
(Laughter.)
Thank you, Mr. President, good job.
END 12:05 P.M. EDT
SOURCE White House Press Office
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