    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 11, 2006]
    [Pages 459-461]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 11, 2006

        Good morning. This month will mark the 3-year anniversary of the
    start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, which liberated Iraq from the tyranny
    of Saddam Hussein. As this milestone
    approaches, I will be giving a series of speeches to update the American
    people on our strategy for victory in Iraq. I will discuss the progress
    we are making, the lessons we've learned from our experiences, and how
    we're fixing what has not worked.
        On Monday I will give the first of these speeches, focusing on the
    security element of our strategy, the task of defeating the terrorists
    and training Iraqi security forces

    [[Page 460]]

    so they can take the lead in the fight and defend their own democracy.
        The Iraqi security forces have made great strides in the past year,
    and they performed well after the recent bombing of the Golden Mosque of
    Samarra. This mosque is one of Shi'a Islam's holiest sites, and after it
    was bombed, bands of armed militia began exacting revenge with reprisal
    attacks on Sunni mosques and random violence that took the lives of
    hundreds of innocent Iraqis.
        Immediately after the attack, Iraq's leaders came together and acted
    to restore calm and end the violence. They deployed Iraqi security
    forces to Baghdad and other areas threatened by violence. These forces
    moved rapidly and effectively to protect religious sites, enforce a
    curfew, and reestablish civil order where necessary. We commend them for
    their good work.
        The situation in Iraq is still tense. Reports of kidnapings and
    executions are being taken very seriously. The Iraqi Government has made
    clear that such violent attacks cannot be tolerated. The vast majority
    of Iraqis have shown they want a future of freedom and peace.
        By their response over the past 2 weeks and their participation in
    three successful elections last year, the Iraqi people have made clear
    they will not let a violent minority take that future away by tearing
    the country apart. And the Iraqi security forces have shown that they
    are capable of rising above sectarian divisions to protect the unity of
    a free Iraq.
        The effective performance of the Iraqi security forces during this
    crisis showed that our hard work to build up and train these forces is
    paying off. In the coming months, we will help prepare more Iraqi
    battalions to take the lead in battle, and Iraqi forces will assume
    responsibility over more territory. Our goal is to have the Iraqis
    control more territory than the coalition forces by the end of this
    year. And as Iraqis assume responsibility over more territory, this
    frees American and coalition forces to concentrate on hunting down high-
    value targets like the terrorist Zarqawi and his associates.
        As we take the fight to the terrorists, they realize they cannot
    defeat us directly in battle, so they have resorted to brutal attacks
    against innocent Iraqis and American forces using improvised explosive
    devices, or IEDs. IEDs are homemade bombs that can be hidden in cars or
    by the side of a road and detonated remotely, using everyday devices
    like garage door openers and cordless phones.
        These weapons are now the principal threat to our troops and to the
    future of a free Iraq. And to defeat this threat, my administration has
    established a new, high-level command at the Department of Defense, led
    by retired four-star General Montgomery Meigs. This weekend General Meigs is briefing me at the White
    House on our plan to defeat the threat of IEDs. We're harnessing every
    available resource, the ingenuity of our best scientists and engineers,
    and the determination of our military to defeat this threat. And we're
    not going to rest until this danger to our troops has been removed.
        In the coming days, there will be considerable reflection on the
    removal of Saddam Hussein from power and our
    remaining mission in Iraq. The last 3 years have tested our resolve. The
    fighting has been tough. The enemy we face has proved to be brutal and
    relentless. We have changed our approach in many areas to reflect the
    hard realities on the ground. And the sacrifice being made by our young
    men and women who wear the uniform has been heartening and inspiring.
        Amid the daily news of car bombs and kidnapings and brutal killings,
    I can understand why many of our fellow citizens are now wondering if
    the entire mission was worth it. I strongly believe our country is
    better off with Saddam Hussein out of power.
    Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was an enemy of America who shot at our
    airplanes, had a history of pursuing and using

    [[Page 461]]

    weapons of mass destruction, threatened and invaded his neighbors,
    ordered the death of thousands of his citizens, and supported terrorism.
        After the liberation of the Iraqi people, Al Qaida and their
    affiliates have made Iraq the central front on the war on terror. By
    helping the Iraqi people build a free and representative government, we
    will deny the terrorists a safe haven to plan attacks against America.
    The security of our country is directly linked to the liberty of the
    Iraqi people. This will require more difficult days of fighting and
    sacrifice, yet I am confident that our strategy will result in victory,
    and then our troops can come home with the honor they have earned.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7 a.m. on March 10 in the Cabinet Room
    at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 11. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    March 10 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his
    address, the President referred to former President Saddam Hussein of
    Iraq; senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; and Gen.
    Montgomery Meigs, USA (Ret.), director, Joint Improvised Explosive
    Device Defeat Organization. The Office of the Press Secretary also
    released a Spanish language transcript of this address.