    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 6, 2006]
    [Pages 1332-1333]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With United States Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay
    Khalilzad
    July 6, 2006

        The President. It's been my pleasure to sit here and talk to our
    Ambassador from Iraq. I want--first, Zal, I thank you for your service.
    I really appreciate your family supporting you on this very important
    mission. I know the Secretary of State and
    the National Security Adviser join me in
    saying it gives us great comfort to know that we've got a man of your
    caliber there. It's a hard job. And Zal has earned the confidence of the
    new Iraqi Government, and I was able to see that firsthand in how the
    Prime Minister and other members of his
    administration related to him.

    [[Page 1333]]

        He brought back a report that is realistic. On the one hand, he said
    they've got a good Government--goal-oriented people who are working to
    achieve certain objectives. And I know that you've been impressed by
    Prime Minister Maliki's determination to
    succeed and his willingness to lay out a commonsense agenda and then
    hold people to account.
        Zal also said it's still a dangerous place because there are people
    there that will do anything to stop the progress of this new Government.
    And you have to ask yourself, who's afraid of democracy? I mean, why
    would people be afraid of a peaceful civil society? And the answer is,
    people who want to not only harm Iraqis but want to harm us.
        And I've assured Zal that--to assure the Iraqi people that when we
    give our word, we'll keep our word. And we intend to work closely with
    the Government and to help defend the people until this Government is
    more capable of defending itself.
        And he talked about police training. There's more work to be done in
    training the police. And we talked about the training of the army, and
    it's gone quite well. Zal is concerned about foreign influences in the
    country, as am I.
        I do appreciate your briefing on the Prime Minister's recent trip in the neighborhood, which looked like a very
    successful trip. We, of course, are concerned that some in the
    neighborhood may want to derail the progress of a free Iraq. And that is
    troubling and something that we'll work on.
        But, Mr. Ambassador, you represent our country with a lot of class
    and dignity. And so, thank you. You may want to say a few comments.
        Ambassador Khalilzad. Thank you, Mr. President. I came today to also
    wish the President a happy birthday. Happy birthday, Mr. President. And
    it's an honor to serve the United States in Iraq. Under your leadership,
    we're working very hard to make sure Iraq succeeds because Iraq is the
    defining challenge of our time. And what happens in Iraq will shape the
    future of the Middle East, and the future of the Middle East will shape
    the future of the world.
        So it's an honor to see you again. And happy birthday, Mr.
    President.
        The President. Thank you, sir. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:12 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of
    Iraq.