    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [May 1, 2006]
    [Pages 833-834]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Secretary of State Condoleezza
    Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald H.
    Rumsfeld
    May 1, 2006

        I want to thank Secretary Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld. And General
    Pace, thank you for being here as well. Thank you
    for joining me this morning.
        They came by the Oval Office to brief me on their recent trip to
    Iraq. First of all, I appreciate them both going over there to send my
    best wishes to the new Government and to Prime Minister-designate
    Maliki, as well as the new
    Speaker and the President. I had spoken to them on the phone, but I thought it was
    very important for both Secretaries to go firsthand, to be there with
    the leadership to say we're supporting them. It's very important for
    these two senior officials to sit down with these new folks and say,
    ``You have our support, and we want you to succeed.''
        And they brought back interesting impressions from the
    three new
    leaders. They said they were optimistic
    people, that they're full of energy, and they're very eager to succeed.
    And that's really important for the American people to know, that we've
    got partners in this effort who are dedicated to a unified Iraq and
    dedicated to putting a Government together that is one that will
    represent all the Iraqi people.
        This new Government is going to represent a new start for the Iraqi
    people. It's a Government that understands they've got serious
    challenges ahead of them. And the three leaders spoke to Secretary Rice
    and Secretary Rumsfeld about their need to deploy the growing strength
    of the Iraqi security forces in such a way as to defeat

    [[Page 834]]

    the terrorists and the insurgents. And we will continue to support them
    in that effort that they talked about: the need to establish control
    over the militias and other unauthorized armed groups and enforce the
    rule of law. And we will support them in these efforts to achieve that
    important objective. They talked about the need to rebuild
    infrastructure and strengthen their economy, and we agree with that
    assessment.
        And finally, they talked about the need to make sure that all Iraqis
    share in the benefits of this new democracy. A new Iraqi Government
    represents a strategic opportunity for America--and the whole world, for
    that matter. This Nation of ours and our coalition partners are going to
    work with the new leadership to strengthen our mutual efforts to achieve
    success, a victory in this war on terror. This is a--we believe this is
    a turning point for the Iraqi citizens, and it's a new chapter in our
    partnership.
        The Secretaries began building this new partnership during their
    trip. In other words, the Iraqi leaders saw that we are committed to
    helping them succeed. They need to know that we stand with them. And the
    Iraqi people need to know that we stand with them, that we understand
    the strategic importance of a free Iraq in the Middle East, and that we
    understand the need to deny safe haven to the terrorists who have caused
    such turmoil and havoc inside of Iraq.
        There's going to be more tough days ahead. These Secretaries know
    that. They're realistic people. They have brought an assessment of what
    they saw on the ground, and some of it's positive, and obviously,
    there's some difficult days ahead because there's still terrorists there
    who are willing to take innocent life in order to stop the progress of
    democracy. But this Government is more determined than ever to succeed,
    and we believe we've got partners to help the Iraqi people realize their
    dreams.
        Last December, the Iraqi people voted to have a free government. I
    know it seems like a long time ago for the American people, but what we
    have begun to see now is the emergence of a unity government to
    represent the wishes of the Iraqi people. Last December, millions of
    people defied the terrorists and killers and said, ``We want to be free;
    we want a unity government.'' And now what has happened is, after
    compromise and politics, the Iraqis have come together to form that
    Government. And our Secretaries went over there to tell them that we
    look forward to working with them as partners in peace.
        So I want to thank you all for going. I appreciate your dedication
    to the cause of peace. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:36 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. Peter Pace, USMC, Chairman,
    Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki,
    Speaker of the Parliament Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, and President Jalal
    Talabani of Iraq.