[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[June 12, 2006]
[Pages 1117-1119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following Meetings on Iraq and an Exchange With Reporters at 
Camp David
June 12, 2006

    The President. We just had a meaningful day. We have spent a lot of 
time talking to our team in Baghdad about the way forward in Iraq. We've 
spent time talking about the security situation in Iraq and what we 
intend to do to help the Iraqi Government bring security to 
neighborhoods in Baghdad and Basra. We talked about the economic 
situation in Iraq. We talked about the energy situation in Iraq. We 
talked about a variety of matters with Ambassador Khalilzad and General Casey and 
General Abizaid.
    As you can see, I not only have my national security team here, I've 
got members of my Cabinet as well. We all agree that we have got to 
continue to help this new Government move forward. Success in Iraq will 
depend upon the capacity of the new Government to provide for its 
people. We recognize that. We're encouraged by the formation of a unity 
government, and we recognize our responsibilities to help that new 
Government.
    And tomorrow we'll be meeting with the new Government via SVTS, and 
that will be a very interesting experience for all of us, to be able to 
talk to our respective counterparts.
    The message to the Iraqi Government is, is that we stand with you, 
that what you're doing is important, that democracy in Iraq is not only 
important to the 12 million people that went to the polls and their 
families, but democracy in Iraq is important in the war on terror. It's 
important that we succeed in Iraq in order to make America more secure 
and the world a better place.
    So I want to thank my Cabinet Secretaries for being with me today, 
and other members of my team, to really have this very vital and 
important discussion.
    I'll answer a couple of questions.

U.S. Troop Levels in Iraq

    Q. You said that you were going to listen to your U.S. commanders on 
the ground about the troops. And, you know, General Casey has said now 
that he thinks that gradual U.S. troop reductions could be made in the 
coming months. So do you agree with this?
    The President. Well, as I also said the last time you asked me this 
question--which was a couple of days ago--that we were going to make 
sure that we fully understand the Iraqi capability to be able to take 
the fight to the enemy and secure

[[Page 1118]]

its country. And the Iraqi Defense Minister is just in office. And General Casey, of course, will be making those assessments, as he told 
us today via the teleconference--that he will make the proper 
assessments and come back to us and make recommendations to us.
    Whatever we do will be based upon the conditions on the ground. And 
whatever we do will be toward a strategy of victory. And so this is a 
process of getting to know the--understand the Iraqi capabilities, 
particularly the command and control structure, and what our need--we 
need to do to help them achieve victory.

Abu Musab Al Zarqawi/War on Terror

    Q. Mr. President, what do you think of the successor to Zarqawi that 
was named by Al Qaida? And how do you stop an insurgency that is still 
able to recruit people and continue to threaten attacks?
    The President. I think the successor to Zarqawi is going to be on 
our list to bring to justice.
    What was the second part of your question?
    Q. How do you stop an insurgency that continues to be able to 
recruit people and continues to threaten attacks and carry them out?
    The President. The best way to win this war against an insurgency is 
to stand up a unity government which is capable of defending itself but 
also providing tangible benefits to the people. The Iraqis have got some 
wonderful assets. They've got energy, which they can use to the benefit 
of their people. They're entrepreneurial. They've got a stable currency. 
They've got a small-business sector that's growing. And, ultimately, the 
Iraqi people are going to have to make up their mind: Do they want to 
live in terror, or do they want to live in peace? And the United States 
and our coalition will help them realize their ambitions if they choose 
to live in peace and hope, which we believe they will.
    Remember, it wasn't all that long ago that 12 million people went to 
the polls and said, ``We want to live in a free society.'' No question, 
the fighting is tough. No question, the enemy is violent and mean. But 
the enemy doesn't stand for anything. They have no message of hope. They 
have no positive philosophy. All they can do is kill and hope that the 
Government splits up or that the American people lose their will. And I 
keep reminding the American people that the stakes are worth it. It is 
worth it to help Iraq succeed. It is worth it to have a democracy in the 
Middle East. It is worth it to show other reformers and people who want 
to live in a free society what is possible.
    Q. Mr. President
    The President. Yes.

International Support for Iraq

    Q. Are you satisfied with what Iraq's neighbors and the 
international community are doing to help this new Government, or would 
you like to see them do more, and what should it be?
    The President. Iraq's neighbors ought to do more to help them. And 
we're constantly working with our friends in the neighborhood to 
encourage them to support this new democracy. And I recognize that 
there's some concerns about a Shi'a Prime Minister and a--from different countries where there's Sunni 
representation, Sunni leadership. But our message is, is that Iraq will 
show that it's possible for people of all faiths to live together. After 
all, they've got the most modern Constitution in the history of the 
Middle East.
    We expect our friends who have made commitments, $13 billion, to 
honor those commitments. Many of those countries are outside of the 
Middle East. And so we'll continue--we discussed that today, as to how 
to continue to rally not only the neighborhood, Iraq's neighbors, to the 
cause of the new democracy, but how to help others who have made a 
pledge to honor their pledge.

[[Page 1119]]

    Yes.

Energy/Foreign Sources of Oil

    Q. Mr. President, did you talk about oil production and maybe 
getting it back to prewar levels, or anything?
    The President. We did. We spent a lot of time in talking about 
energy and oil. The oil belongs to the Iraqi people. It's their asset. 
It is one of the--it's--the capacity to generate wealth from the ground 
distinguishes Iraq from Afghanistan, for example. It's something that I 
view as a very positive part of Iraqi future. And we talked about how to 
advise the Government to best use that money for the benefit of the 
people.
    Secondly, obviously, we spent time figuring out how to help 
strategize with the new ministries as to how to get oil production up. 
And recently, they've had oil production as high as a little over 2 
million barrels a day, which is extremely positive. The oil sector is 
very much like the rest of the infrastructure of Iraq: Saddam 
Hussein let it deteriorate. There wasn't much 
reinvestment or not much modernization. After all, he was using money 
for his own personal gain, and he wasn't spending the people's money on 
enhancing the infrastructure. And the oil infrastructure collapsed and 
deteriorated. And as a result, there's a lot of work that needs to be 
done on, for example, work-overs, that is, to help old wells become 
revitalized, see, just a standard maintenance procedure. So there's a 
maintenance program on to help the Iraqi people get their production up.
    There's some unbelievably interesting exploration opportunities. And 
the new Government is going to have to figure out how best to lease the 
people's lands in a fair way. My own view is, is that the Government 
ought to use the oil as a way to unite the country and ought to think 
about having a tangible fund for the people, so the people have faith in 
central government.
    Listen, thank you all for coming today. And tomorrow is going to be 
a fascinating day, and I'm looking forward to having discussions with 
our counterparts via SVTS. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 3:40 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad; Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., 
USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; Gen. John P. 
Abizaid, USA, commander, U.S. Central Command; Minister of Defense Abd 
al-Qadir al-Mufriji, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and former President 
Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al 
Zarqawi, who was killed in Baquba, Iraq, on June 7.