[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[December 18, 2005]
[Pages 1872-1875]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Address to the Nation on Iraq and the War on Terror
December 18, 2005

    Good evening. Three days ago, in large numbers, Iraqis went to the 
polls to choose their own leaders, a landmark day in the history of 
liberty. In the coming weeks, the ballots will be counted, a new 
Government formed, and a people who suffered in tyranny for so long will 
become full members of the free world.
    This election will not mean the end of violence. But it is the 
beginning of something new, constitutional democracy at the heart of the 
Middle East. And this vote, 6,000 miles away, in a vital region of the 
world, means that America has an ally of growing strength in the fight 
against terror.
    All who had a part in this achievement, Iraqis and Americans and our 
coalition partners, can be proud. Yet our work is not done. There is 
more testing and sacrifice before us. I know many Americans have 
questions about the cost and direction of this war. So tonight I want to 
talk to you about how far we have come in Iraq and the path that lies 
ahead.
    From this office, nearly 3 years ago, I announced the start of 
military operations in Iraq. Our coalition confronted a regime that 
defied United Nations Security Council resolutions, violated a ceasefire 
agreement, sponsored terrorism, and possessed, we believed, weapons of 
mass destruction. After the swift fall of Baghdad, we found mass graves 
filled by a dictator. We found some capacity 
to restart programs to produce weapons of mass destruction, but we did 
not find those weapons.
    It is true that Saddam Hussein had a 
history of pursuing and using weapons of mass destruction. It is true 
that he systematically concealed those programs and blocked the work of 
U.N. weapons inspectors. It is true that many nations believed that 
Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. But much of the intelligence 
turned out to be wrong. As your President, I am responsible for the 
decision to go into Iraq. Yet it was right to remove Saddam Hussein from 
power.
    He was given an ultimatum, and he made 
his choice for war. And the result of that war was to rid a--the world 
of a murderous dictator who menaced his people, invaded his neighbors, 
and declared America to be his enemy. Saddam Hussein, captured and 
jailed, is still the same raging tyrant, only now without a throne. His 
power to harm a single man, woman, or child is gone forever, and the 
world is better for it.
    Since the removal of Saddam, this war, 
like other wars in our history, has been difficult. The mission of 
American troops in urban raids and desert patrols, fighting Saddam 
loyalists and foreign terrorists, has brought danger and suffering and 
loss. This loss has caused sorrow for our whole Nation, and it has led 
some to ask if we are creating more problems than we're solving.
    That is an important question, and the answer depends on your view 
of the war on terror. If you think the terrorists would become peaceful 
if only America would stop provoking them, then it might make sense to 
leave them alone.
    This is not the threat I see. I see a global terrorist movement that 
exploits Islam in the service of radical political aims, a vision in 
which books are burned and women are oppressed and all dissent is 
crushed. Terrorist operatives conduct their campaign of murder with a 
set of declared and specific goals: to demoralize free nations, to drive 
us out of the Middle East, to spread an empire of fear across that 
region, and to wage a perpetual war against America and our friends. 
These terrorists view the world as a giant battlefield, and they seek to 
attack us wherever they can. This has attracted Al Qaida to Iraq, where

[[Page 1873]]

they are attempting to frighten and intimidate America into a policy of 
retreat.
    The terrorists do not merely object to American actions in Iraq and 
elsewhere; they object to our deepest values and our way of life. And if 
we were not fighting them in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Southeast Asia, 
and in other places, the terrorists would not be peaceful citizens; they 
would be on the offense and headed our way.
    September the 11th, 2001, required us to take every emerging threat 
to our country seriously, and it shattered the illusion that terrorists 
attack us only after we provoke them. On that day, we were not in Iraq; 
we were not in Afghanistan. But the terrorists attacked us anyway and 
killed nearly 3,000 men, women, and children in our own country. My 
conviction comes down to this: We do not create terrorism by fighting 
the terrorists; we invite terrorism by ignoring them. And we will defeat 
the terrorists by capturing and killing them abroad, removing their safe 
havens, and strengthening new allies like Iraq and Afghanistan in the 
fight we share.
    The work in Iraq has been especially difficult--more difficult than 
we expected. Reconstruction efforts and the training of Iraqi security 
forces started more slowly than we hoped. We continue to see violence 
and suffering, caused by an enemy that is determined and brutal, 
unconstrained by conscience or the rules of war.
    Some look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude that the war is 
lost and not worth another dime or another day. I don't believe that. 
Our military commanders do not believe that. Our troops in the field, 
who bear the burden and make the sacrifice, do not believe that America 
has lost. And not even the terrorists believe it. We know from their own 
communications that they feel a tightening noose and fear the rise of a 
democratic Iraq.
    The terrorists will continue to have the coward's power to plant 
roadside bombs and recruit suicide bombers. And you will continue to see 
the grim results on the evening news. This proves that the war is 
difficult. It doesn't mean that we are losing. Behind the images of 
chaos that terrorists create for the cameras, we are making steady gains 
with a clear objective in view.
    America, our coalition, and Iraqi leaders are working toward the 
same goal, a democratic Iraq that can defend itself, that will never 
again be a safe haven for terrorists, and that will serve as a model of 
freedom for the Middle East.
    We've put in place a strategy to achieve this goal, a strategy I've 
been discussing in detail over the last few weeks. This plan has three 
critical elements.
    First, our coalition will remain on the offense, finding and 
clearing out the enemy, transferring control of more territory to Iraqi 
units, and building up the Iraqi security forces so they can 
increasingly lead the fight. At this time last year, there were only a 
handful of Iraqi army and police battalions ready for combat. Now, there 
are more than 125 Iraqi combat battalions fighting the enemy, more than 
50 are taking the lead, and we have transferred more than a dozen 
military bases to Iraqi control.
    Second, we're helping the Iraqi Government establish the 
institutions of a unified and lasting democracy, in which all of Iraq's 
people are included and represented. Here also, the news is encouraging. 
Three days ago, more than 10 million Iraqis went to the polls, including 
many Sunni Iraqis who had boycotted national elections last January. 
Iraqis of every background are recognizing that democracy is the future 
of the country they love, and they want their voices heard. One Iraqi, 
after dipping his finger in the purple ink as he cast his ballot, stuck 
his finger in the air and said, ``This is a thorn in the eyes of the 
terrorists.'' Another voter was asked, ``Are you Sunni or Shi'a?'' And 
he responded, ``I am Iraqi.''
    Third, after a number of setbacks, our coalition is moving forward 
with a reconstruction plan to revive Iraq's economy and

[[Page 1874]]

infrastructure and to give Iraqis confidence that a free life will be a 
better life. Today in Iraq, 7 in 10 Iraqis say their lives are going 
well, and nearly two-thirds expect things to improve even more in the 
year ahead. Despite the violence, Iraqis are optimistic, and that 
optimism is justified.
    In all three aspects of our strategy, security, democracy, and 
reconstruction, we have learned from our experiences and fixed what has 
not worked. We will continue to listen to honest criticism and make 
every change that will help us complete the mission. Yet there is a 
difference between honest critics who recognize what is wrong and 
defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right.
    Defeatism may have its partisan uses, but it is not justified by the 
facts. For every scene of destruction in Iraq, there are more scenes of 
rebuilding and hope. For every life lost, there are countless more lives 
reclaimed. And for every terrorist working to stop freedom in Iraq, 
there are many more Iraqis and Americans working to defeat them. My 
fellow citizens, not only can we win the war in Iraq, we are winning the 
war in Iraq.
    It is also important for every American to understand the 
consequences of pulling out of Iraq before our work is done. We would 
abandon our Iraqi friends and signal to the world that America cannot be 
trusted to keep its word. We would undermine the morale of our troops by 
betraying the cause for which they have sacrificed. We would cause the 
tyrants in the Middle East to laugh at our failed resolve and tighten 
their repressive grip. We would hand Iraq over to enemies who have 
pledged to attack us, and the global terrorist movement would be 
emboldened and more dangerous than ever before. To retreat before 
victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor, and I will not 
allow it.
    We're approaching a new year, and there are certain things all 
Americans can expect to see. We will see more sacrifice from our 
military, their families, and the Iraqi people. We will see a concerted 
effort to improve Iraqi police forces and fight corruption. We will see 
the Iraqi military gaining strength and confidence and the democratic 
process moving forward. As these achievements come, it should require 
fewer American troops to accomplish our mission. I will make decisions 
on troop levels based on the progress we see on the ground and the 
advice of our military leaders, not based on artificial timetables set 
by politicians in Washington. Our forces in Iraq are on the road to 
victory, and that is the road that will take them home.
    In the months ahead, all Americans will have a part in the success 
of this war. Members of Congress will need to provide resources for our 
military. Our men and women in uniform, who have done so much already, 
will continue their brave and urgent work. And tonight, I ask all of you 
listening to carefully consider the stakes of this war, to realize how 
far we have come and the good we are doing, and to have patience in this 
difficult, noble, and necessary cause.
    I also want to speak to those of you who did not support my decision 
to send troops to Iraq. I have heard your disagreement, and I know how 
deeply it is felt. Yet now, there are only two options before our 
country, victory or defeat. And the need for victory is larger than any 
President or political party, because the security of our people is in 
the balance. I don't expect you to support everything I do, but tonight 
I have a request: Do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this 
fight for freedom.
    Americans can expect some things of me as well. My most solemn 
responsibility is to protect our Nation, and that requires me to make 
some tough decisions. I see the consequences of those decisions when I 
meet wounded service men and women who cannot leave their hospital beds 
but summon the strength to look me in the eye and say they would do it 
all over again.

[[Page 1875]]

I see the consequences when I talk to parents who miss a child so much 
but tell me he loved being a soldier, he believed in his mission, and, 
``Mr. President, finish the job.''
    I know that some of my decisions have led to terrible loss, and not 
one of those decisions has been taken lightly. I know this war is 
controversial; yet being your President requires doing what I believe is 
right and accepting the consequences. And I have never been more certain 
that America's actions in Iraq are essential to the security of our 
citizens and will lay the foundation of peace for our children and 
grandchildren.
    Next week, Americans will gather to celebrate Christmas and 
Hanukkah. Many families will be praying for loved ones spending this 
season far from home in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other dangerous places. 
Our Nation joins in those prayers. We pray for the safety and strength 
of our troops. We trust, with them, in a love that conquers all fear, in 
a light that reaches the darkest corners of the Earth. And we remember 
the words of the Christmas carol, written during the Civil War: ``God is 
not dead, nor does He sleep; the Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, 
with peace on Earth, good will to men.''
    Thank you, and good night.

Note: The President spoke at 9:01 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his address, he referred to former President Saddam Hussein of 
Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of this address.