    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 18, 2006]
    [Pages 500-502]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 18, 2006

        Good morning. In recent weeks, Americans have seen horrific images
    from Iraq: the bombing of a great house of worship in Samarra, sectarian
    reprisals between Sunnis and Shi'as, and car bombings and kidnapings.
    Amid continued reports about the tense situation in parts of that
    country, it may seem difficult at times to understand how we can say
    that progress is being made. But the reaction to the recent violence by
    Iraq's leaders is a clear sign of Iraq's commitment to democracy.
        I'm encouraged to see that Iraqi political leaders are making good
    progress toward forming a unity government, despite the recent violence.
    Our Ambassador to Iraq, Zal Khalilzad,
    reports that the violence has created a new sense of urgency among these
    leaders to form a national unity government as quickly as possible. I
    urge them to continue their work to put aside their differences, to
    reach out across political, religious, and sectarian lines, and to form

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    a government that can confront the terrorist threat and earn the trust
    and confidence of all Iraqis.
        I also remain optimistic because, slowly but surely, our strategy is
    getting results. This month, I'm giving a series of speeches to update
    the American people on that strategy. I'm discussing the progress we are
    making, the lessons we have learned from our experience, and how we are
    fixing what has not worked. This past week, I discussed the security
    element of our strategy. I spoke about our increasingly successful
    efforts to train Iraqi security forces to take the lead in the fight
    against the terrorists. And I described our strengthened efforts to
    defeat the threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
        On Monday, I will give a speech discussing how we are working with
    all elements of Iraqi society to remove the terrorists and restore order
    in Iraqi cities, to rebuild homes and communities, and to achieve the
    stability that can come only from freedom. I will also share some
    concrete examples of how this approach is succeeding--evidence of real
    progress that is too often lost amid the more dramatic reports of
    violence.
        Sunday marks the third anniversary of the beginning of Operation
    Iraqi Freedom. The decision by the United States and our coalition
    partners to remove Saddam Hussein from power
    was a difficult decision, and it was the right decision. America and the
    world are safer today without Saddam Hussein in power. He is no longer
    oppressing the Iraqi people, sponsoring terror, and threatening the
    world. He is now being tried for his crimes, and over 25 million Iraqis
    now live in freedom. This is an achievement America and our allies can
    be proud of.
        These past 3 years have tested our resolve. We've seen hard days and
    setbacks. After the fall of Saddam Hussein,
    the terrorists made Iraq the central front in the war on terror, in an
    attempt to turn that country into a safe haven where they can plan more
    attacks against America. The fighting has been tough. The enemy has
    proved brutal and relentless. We have changed our approach in many areas
    to reflect the hard realities on the ground. And our troops have shown
    magnificent courage and made tremendous sacrifices.
        These sacrifices by our coalition forces--and the sacrifices of
    Iraqis--have given Iraq this historic opportunity to form a democratic
    government and rebuild itself after decades of tyranny. In the past 3
    years, Iraqis have gone from living under a brutal tyrant to liberation,
    sovereignty, free elections, a constitutional referendum, and last
    December, elections for a fully constitutional government. By their
    courage, the Iraqi people have spoken and made their intentions clear:
    They want to live in a democracy and shape their own destiny.
        In this fight, the American and Iraqi people share the same enemies
    because we stand for freedom. The security of our country is directly
    linked to the liberty of the Iraqi people, and we will settle for
    nothing less than complete victory. Victory will come when the
    terrorists and Saddamists can no longer threaten Iraq's democracy, when
    the Iraqi security forces can provide for the safety of their own
    citizens, and when Iraq is not a safe haven for the terrorists to plot
    new attacks against our Nation.
        More fighting and sacrifice will be required to achieve this
    victory, and for some, the temptation to retreat and abandon our
    commitments is strong. Yet there is no peace, there's no honor, and
    there's no security in retreat. So America will not abandon Iraq to the
    terrorists who want to attack us again. We will finish the mission. By
    defeating the terrorists in Iraq, we will bring greater security to our
    own country. And when victory is achieved, our troops will return home
    with the honor they have earned.
        Thank you for listening.

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    Note: The address was recorded at 7:38 a.m. on March 17 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 18. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    March 17 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.