    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [November 1, 2003]
    [Pages 1435-1436]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    November 1, 2003

        Good morning. This week, terrorists launched a series of attacks in
    Iraq. Their targets included police stations in Baghdad and Fallujah,
    the headquarters of the International Red Cross, and living quarters for
    the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. The majority of their
    victims were Iraqis working to rebuild and restore order to their
    country and citizens of other nations engaged in purely humanitarian
    missions.
        Some of the killers behind these attacks are loyalists of the
    Saddam regime who seek to regain power and
    who resent Iraq's new freedoms. Others are foreigners who have traveled
    to Iraq to spread fear and chaos and prevent the emergence of a
    successful democracy in the heart of the Middle East. They may have
    different long-term goals, but they share a near-term strategy to
    intimidate Iraqis from building a free government and to cause America
    and our allies to flee our responsibilities. They know that a free Iraq
    will be free of them and free of the fear in which the ideologies of
    terror thrive.
        During the last few decades, the terrorists grew to believe that if
    they hit America hard, as in Lebanon and Somalia, America would retreat
    and back down. Five years ago, one of the terrorists said that an attack
    could make America run in less than 24 hours. They have learned the
    wrong lesson. The United States will complete our work in Iraq. Leaving
    Iraq prematurely would only embolden the terrorists and increase the
    danger to America. We are determined to stay, to fight, and to win.
        The terrorists and the Ba'athists loyal to the old regime will fail
    because America and our allies have a strategy, and our strategy is
    working. First, we are taking this fight to the enemy, mounting raids,
    seizing weapons and funds, and bringing killers to justice. One example
    is Operation Ivy Focus, a series of aggressive raids by the Army's 4th
    Infantry Division that in a little over a month has yielded the capture
    of

    [[Page 1436]]

    more than 100 former regime members. In other operations, our soldiers
    have also seized hundreds of weapons, thousands of rounds of ammunition
    and explosives, and hundreds of thousands of dollars suspected of being
    used to finance terror operations.
        Second, we are training an ever-increasing number of Iraqis to
    defend their nation. Today, more than 90,000 Iraqis are serving as
    police officers, border guards, and civil defense personnel. These Iraqi
    forces are also supplying troops in the field with better intelligence,
    allowing for greater precision in targeting the enemies of freedom. And
    we are accelerating our efforts to train and field a new Iraqi army and
    more Iraqi civil defense forces.
        Third, we are implementing a specific plan to transfer sovereignty
    and authority to the Iraqi people. The Governing Council, made up of
    Iraqi citizens, has appointed ministers who are responsible for the day-
    to-day operations of the Iraqi Government. The Council has also selected
    a committee that is developing a process through which Iraqis will draft
    a new constitution for their country. When a constitution has been
    ratified by the Iraqi people, Iraq will enjoy free and fair elections.
        All these efforts are closely linked. As security improves, life
    will increasingly return to normal in Iraq, and more and more Iraqis
    will step forward to play a direct role in the rebirth of their country.
    And as the political process moves forward and more and more Iraqis come
    to feel they have a stake in their country's future, they will help to
    secure a better life for themselves and their children.
        The terrorists and the Ba'athists hope to weaken our will. Our will
    cannot be shaken. We're being tested, and America and our allies will
    not fail. We will honor the sacrifice of the fallen by ensuring that the
    cause for which they fought and died is completed, and we will make
    America safer by helping to transform Iraq from an exporter of violence
    and terror into a center of progress and peace.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 9:37 a.m. on October 31 at the Bush
    Ranch in Crawford, TX, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on November 1. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    October 31 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his
    remarks, the President referred to former President Saddam Hussein of
    Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
    transcript of this address.