    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [March 6, 2004]
    [Pages 325-326]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 6, 2004

        Good morning. This week terrorists launched a series of attacks in
    Iraq, targeting religious sites in Baghdad and Karbala during
    commemorations marking the Shi'a holy day of Ashoura. Laura and I and the American people were filled with grief
    and anger at these terrible acts of murder, which took the lives of
    dozens of innocent Iraqis.
        Some of these killers behind these attacks are supporters of
    Saddam's former regime. Others are foreign
    terrorists. All of them are determined to halt and reverse all progress
    toward freedom in Iraq. One of the terrorist leaders, a killer named
    Zarqawi, recently wrote to a senior Al
    Qaida terrorist of his plan to tear Iraq apart with ethnic violence, to
    undermine Iraqi security forces, to demoralize our coalition, and to
    prevent the rise of a sovereign, democratic government. The killer's
    strategy will fail.
        Immediately after the attacks, the world saw members of Iraq's
    Governing Council and other Iraqis quickly condemn the bombings and
    voice their determination that their country will be peaceful and free.
    The Iraqi people refuse to live in fear, and so do the members of our
    coalition. Fighting alongside the people of Iraq, we will defeat the
    terrorists who seek to plunge Iraq into chaos and violence, and we will
    stand with the people of Iraq for as long as necessary to build a
    stable, peaceful, and successful democracy.
        The Iraqi people are making excellent progress. Members of the
    Governing Council are having a free and open and spirited debate as they
    complete a new framework for governing their nation. This Transitional
    Administrative Law will result in protecting the rights of all Iraqis
    and will move the country toward a democratic future.
        A year ago, Iraq's only law was the whim of one brutal man. When the new law takes effect, Iraqis will, for the
    first time in decades, live under the clear protections of a written
    bill of rights. Under this law, all Iraqis will be treated equally. No
    religious or ethnic groups will be favored, and none will suffer
    discrimination at the hands of the state.
        The law will protect the rights of free speech and peaceful
    assembly, the right to organize political parties, the right to vote in
    fair elections, and the right to worship according to one's own
    conscience. The law also will guarantee the right to a speedy, fair, and
    open trial. No Iraqi will ever again have to fear the midnight knock of
    the secret police.
        The Transitional Administrative Law will establish a clear path for
    the transition to full Iraqi sovereignty on June 30th of this year. Our
    coalition of 34 countries and the United Nations will continue to work
    closely with the Iraqi people as they progress toward this goal. The law
    calls for the election of a transitional national assembly by January
    31, 2005. Later that year, this assembly will draft a new constitution
    to be

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    ratified by the Iraqi people. And by the end of next year, the Iraqi
    people will elect a parliament and establish a Government that is fully
    representative and truly free.
        Difficult work in creating a new Iraqi Government remains. Yet
    Iraqis are equal to the tasks before them. The Iraqi people have shown
    the world that they are fully capable of living in freedom.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 3:51 p.m. on March 4 at the Bush Ranch
    in Crawford, TX, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 6. The transcript
    was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on March 5 but
    was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his address, the
    President referred to senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi;
    and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The Office of the Press
    Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.