    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [August 23, 2005]
    [Pages 1342-1345]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters in Donnelly, Idaho
    August 23, 2005

        The President. I want to thank the Governor for the invitation to come to Idaho. He's been asking me
    to come here for 5 years, and I finally made it. I'm going to tell the
    people tomorrow in Boise that I made a mistake not coming here earlier.
    It's a beautiful State. We're out spending a little time hiking the
    trails here. This is a spectacular part of the world. I want to thank
    the people of Idaho for a warm welcome.
        I'm looking forward to my speech tomorrow, to thank the Idaho
    National Guard and those who are on active duty for their selfless
    dedication to working to make this world a more secure place for those
    of us who love freedom. I'll remind the people that we're making
    progress on two fronts--a political front. The Iraqi people are working
    hard to reach a consensus on their constitution. It's an amazing process
    to work. First of all, the fact that they're even writing a constitution
    is vastly different from living under the iron hand of a
    dictator.
        As Americans watch the constitutional process unfold, as we watch
    people work to achieve compromise and unity, we've got to remember our
    own history. We had trouble at our own conventions writing a
    constitution. It took a lot of work and a lot of interest and
    willingness of people to work for the common good. That's what we're
    seeing in Iraq, and that's a positive development. The fact that Iraq
    will have a democratic constitution that honors women's rights, the
    rights of minorities, is going to be an important change in the broader
    Middle East.
        And on the security front, we'll remain on the hunt. We have an
    obligation and a duty to protect this country. And one way to do so is
    to not only firm up the homeland but to stay on the offense against the
    terrorists, and we'll do so. We'll defeat the terrorists. We'll train
    Iraqi forces to defeat the terrorists. In the long run, we'll defeat the
    terrorists through the spread of freedom and democracy.
        Anyway, thanks for the invitation. The Idaho National Guard has done
    good, strong work, and I look forward to thanking them in person. I'll
    take a couple of questions. AP.

    Meeting With Antiwar Protesters

        Q. Mr. President, we know you met with Cindy Sheehan a year ago, but
    she says a lot has changed since then. She has more to say to you, and
    even some Republicans have said that you should meet with her. Why not
    do that when you get back to the ranch?
        The President. Well, I did meet with Cindy Sheehan. I strongly support her right to protest. There's a lot
    of people protesting, and there's a lot of points of view about the Iraq
    war. As you know, in Crawford last weekend, there were people from both
    sides of the issue, or from all sides of the issue, there to express
    their opinions.
        I sent Deputy Chief of Staff Hagin and
    National Security Adviser Hadley to meet
    with Ms. Sheehan early on. She expressed her
    opinion. I disagree with it. I think immediate withdrawal from Iraq
    would be a mistake. I think those who advocate immediate withdrawal from
    not only Iraq but the Middle East would be--are advocating a policy that
    would weaken the United States. So I appreciate her right to protest. I
    understand her anguish. I met with a lot of families. She doesn't
    represent the view of a lot of the families I have met with. And I'll
    continue to meet with families.
        Toby [Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters].

    [[Page 1343]]

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Hi, how are you doing?
        The President. I got you this time.
        Q. Mr. President, Israel has withdrawn from the final settlement.
    What does the Palestinian leader Abbas need to do next? And are there
    any specific plans for restarting negotiations based on the roadmap?
        The President. First of all, I want to congratulate Prime Minister
    Sharon for having made a very tough decision.
    As I said in my remarks yesterday in Salt Lake City, the Prime Minister
    made a courageous decision to withdraw from the Gaza. We have got Jim
    Wolfensohn, the former head of the World
    Bank, on the ground, helping President Abbas develop a government that responds to the will of the
    folks in Gaza. In other words, this is step one in the development of a
    democracy.
        And so to answer your question, what must take place next is the
    establishment of a working government in Gaza, a government that
    responds to the people. President Abbas has made a commitment to fight off the violence,
    because he understands a democracy can't exist with terrorist groups
    trying to take the law into their own hands.
        Along these lines, we've also got General Ward on the ground, helping the Palestinians consolidate
    their security forces. It turns out that the post-Arafat regime is one
    of different factions and different security forces that were really in
    place to kind of maintain his power but not necessarily to protect the
    overall security of the Palestinian people. It's in the interest to
    consolidate the security forces so that there is a--the government has
    got a vehicle and a group of folks by which to help enforce order.
        You asked about the roadmap. Of course you want to get back to the
    roadmap. But I understand that in order for this process to go forward,
    there must be confidence, confidence that the Palestinian people will
    have in their own government to perform, confidence with the Israelis
    that they'll see a peaceful state emerging. And therefore it's very
    important for the world to stay focused on Gaza and helping Gaza--
    helping the Gaza economy get going, helping rebuild the settlements for
    Gaza--for the people of Gaza.
        This is a very hopeful period. Again, I applaud Prime Minister
    Sharon for making a decision that has really
    changed the dynamics on the ground and has really provided hope for the
    Palestinian people. My vision, my hope is that one day we'll see two
    states--two democratic states living side by side in peace.
        Who else we got? Bloomberg.

    Drafting a Constitution in Iraq/Possible Sunni Insurgency

        Q. Mr. President, the Sunni negotiator, yesterday, for the
    constitution said that if they do pass the constitution tomorrow, that
    it would cause an insurgency amongst the Sunnis. What would America do
    if the Sunnis did rise up and have an insurgency?
        The President. Well, I think--you know, you're speaking about one
    voice. There is more than one Sunni
    involved in the process. Reaching an accord on a constitution, after
    years of dictatorship, is not easy. And so you're seeing people express
    their opinion. I don't know if this is a negotiating position by the
    fellow or not. I'm not on the ground; I didn't hear him.
        But I will tell you I spoke with Secretary Rice twice this morning, who has been in touch with
    our Ambassador on the ground, and she is
    hopeful that more and more Sunnis will accept the constitution. Again, I
    repeat to you that we're watching an amazing event unfold, and that is
    the writing of a constitution which guarantees minority rights, women's
    rights, freedom to worship, in a part of the world that had only--in a
    country that had only known dictatorship. And so you're seeing people
    express their opinions and talking about a political process.
        And the way forward in Iraq is for there to be a two-track strategy.
    One, on the

    [[Page 1344]]

    one hand, there's politics. It wasn't all that long ago, but it seems
    like a long time ago, I guess, for some, that the Iraqi people expressed
    their interest in democracy. Eight million people voted. They said, ``We
    want to be free.'' They went to the polls, said, ``Give us a chance to
    vote, and we will.'' And they did. In other words, they have made their
    intentions known that they want to have a free society. And now they're
    writing a constitution.
        The next step after the constitution will be the ratification of the
    constitution, and then the election of a permanent Government. In other
    words, democracy is unfolding. And the reason why that's important is,
    is that we've had a--we had a policy that just said, ``Let the dictator
    stay there, don't worry about it.'' And as a result of dictatorship and
    as a result of tyranny, resentment, hopelessness began to develop in
    that part of the world, which became the--gave the terrorists capacity
    to recruit. We just cannot tolerate the status quo. We're at war. And so
    this is a hopeful moment.
        And you talk about Sunnis rising up. I mean, the Sunnis have got to
    make a choice. Do they want to live in a society that's free, or do they
    want to live in violence? And I suspect most mothers, no matter what
    their religion may be, will choose a free society so that their children
    can grow up in a peaceful world.
        Anyway, I'm optimistic about what's taking place. I'm also
    optimistic about the fact that more and more Iraqis are able to take the
    fight to the enemy. And as I'll remind the good folks of Idaho, our
    strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, Americans
    will stand down. And what that means is, as more and more Iraqis take
    the fight to the few who want to disrupt the dreams of the many, that
    the American troops will be able to pull back. We're still going to be
    training Iraqis. We'll still be working with Iraqis, but more and more
    Iraqis will be in the fight.

    Iraqi Constitution

        We've got somebody from FOX here, somebody told me?
        Q. Yes, Mr. President, thank you.
        The President. There you are, kind of blending in.
        Q. Sorry about that. Does the administration's goal--I'll ask you
    about the Iraqi constitution. You said you're confident that it will
    honor the rights of women.
        The President. Yes.
        Q. If it's rooted in Islam, as it seems it will be, is that still--
    is there still the possibility of honoring the rights of women?
        The President. I talked to Condi, and
    there is not--as I understand it, the way the constitution is written is
    that women have got rights, inherent rights recognized in the
    constitution, and that the constitution talks about not ``the religion''
    but ``a religion.'' Twenty-five percent of the assembly is going to be
    women, which is a--is embedded in the constitution.
        Okay. It's been a pleasure.

    President's Vacation

        Q. What else are you going to do? Are you going to be bike today?
        The President. I may bike today. I've been on the phone all morning.
    I spent a little time with the CIA man this morning, catching up on the
    events of the world. And as I said, I talked to Condi a couple of times. Tonight I'm going to be dining
    with the Governor and the delegation from
    Idaho; spend a little quality time with the First Lady, here in this beautiful part of the world. I may go for
    a bike ride.
        Q. Any fishing?
        The President. I don't know yet. I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm
    kind of hanging loose, as they say. [Laughter]
        All right, I've got to go. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:50 a.m. at the Tamarack Resort. In his
    remarks, he referred to Gov. Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho; Cindy Sheehan,
    whose son Spc. Casey Sheehan, USA, died in Iraq on April 4, 2004;

    [[Page 1345]]

    Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel; former World Bank President James
    D. Wolfensohn, Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement; President Mahmoud
    Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority; Lt. Gen. William E.
    Ward, USA, Senior U.S. Security Coordinator, Department of State; and
    U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad. A tape was not available for
    verification of the content of these remarks.