    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 11, 2006]
    [Pages 458-459]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Briefing by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device
    Defeat Organization and an Exchange With Reporters
    March 11, 2006

        The President. Good morning. I want to thank General Meigs for being here to brief me about tactics on the
    ground in Iraq. One of the things that the Secretary and General Pace are constantly
    doing is briefing the Commander in Chief as to the nature of the enemy,
    what the enemy is trying to do to shake our will, and how we're
    adjusting, how we're constantly adapting our tactics on the ground to
    achieve a victory.
        We face an enemy that will use explosive devices in order to shake
    our will, in order to foment violence in Iraq, in order to try to
    convince the American people that we can't win in Iraq. That's what
    they're trying to do. And the general
    has spent a lot of time thinking about the enemy's tactics and
    techniques and how our military can adjust to them.
        So the briefing today was a series of briefing I get from our
    commanders on the ground, as well as our experts hired by the Pentagon,
    to let me know what we're doing, so I can let the American people know
    that we recognize the nature of this enemy. We're adjusting our tactics
    to defeat this enemy for the sake of peace, for the sake of the security
    of the United States of America, and for the sake of peace in the world.
        And so, General, thank you for being
    here. I appreciate your time. I'll answer a couple of questions. Deb
    [Deb Riechmann, Associated Press].

    Former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Claude
    Allen

        Q. Mr. President, can you tell us your reaction to the arrest of
    your former Domestic Policy Adviser, Claude Allen?
        The President. If the allegations are true, Claude Allen did not
    tell my Chief of Staff and legal
    counsel the truth, and that's deeply
    disappointing. If the allegations are true, something went wrong in
    Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad. When I heard the story last
    night, I was shocked. And my first reaction was one of disappointment,
    deep disappointment that--if it's true--that we were not fully informed.
    But it was also one--shortly thereafter, I felt really sad for the Allen
    family.
        Caren [Caren Bohan, Reuters].

    Republican Party/Dubai Ports World

        Q. Sir, are you concerned about the rift that the Dubai Ports deal
    has opened within your own party?
        The President. The Republican Party is united in our efforts to win
    the war on terror. The Republican Party is united in our efforts to keep
    this economy strong by keeping taxes low. The Republican Party is united
    in making us less dependent on foreign sources of oil.
        I've read all the stories about this rift or that rift. That's
    typical Washington, it seems like to me. I am looking forward to
    continuing to work with the leadership in the United States Congress to
    pass an agenda that will keep America the economic leader of the world
    and will keep this country secure. And next fall, I'm looking forward to
    campaigning with our candidates. I'm convinced ours is the party that
    has got an agenda for the future, and ours is the party that has
    performed.
        Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].

    Progress in Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, are you concerned, with reference to the IEDs, are
    you concerned that the sophisticated weaponry our troops are facing now
    might be coming from foreign, neighboring countries? And if so, what are
    our courses going about----

    [[Page 459]]

        The President. We're constantly gathering intelligence. We're
    monitoring influence. We are adjusting our tactics. We are--obviously,
    if there's any kind of influence from a foreign country that is
    disruptive, any kind of influence--if the Iranians are trying to
    influence the outcome of the political process or the outcome of the
    security situation there, we're letting them know our displeasure.
        Our call is for those in the neighborhood to allow Iran--Iraq to
    develop a democracy. And that includes our call to Iran as well as to
    Syria. We have made our concerns known, and we will continue to make our
    concerns known. It's in the interests of the neighborhood that Iraq
    develop to be a peaceful democracy. It's important for countries to have
    stable, peaceful, prosperous countries on their border. Prosperity in
    one nation will help prosperity in other nations. It's important for our
    friends in the rest of the Middle East to help this new democracy.
        And so, yes, we're interested in negative influence; we're also
    interested in positive influence. And we call on people to be a positive
    influence, to help this new democracy emerge. And I'm optimistic that
    the Iraqi people will overcome the challenges they face.
        And my optimism is based upon reality on the ground. One, there were
    some people trying to, obviously, foment sectarian violence. Some have
    called it a civil war. But it didn't work. Secondly, I'm optimistic
    because the Iraqi security forces performed, in most cases, really well
    to provide security. All but two of the Provinces of Iraq, after the
    blowing up of the mosque, were settled. I'm positive and optimistic
    about the development that the Iraqi security forces are achieving.
        I know we've got to do more work in the police forces; we have said
    that very clearly. General Casey has
    called the year 2006 ``the year of police training,'' and we'll continue
    to work to train the police. I'm optimistic that the leadership
    recognizes that a sectarian violence will undermine the capacity for
    them to self govern. I believe we'll have a unity government in place
    that will help move the process forward. I fully recognize that the
    nature of the enemy is such that they want to convince the world that we
    cannot succeed in Iraq. I know we're going to succeed if we don't lose
    our will.
        Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:46 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. Montgomery Meigs, USA
    (Ret.), director, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization;
    and Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-National
    Force--Iraq.