    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 25, 2006]
    [Pages 1438-1444]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Nuri al-
    Maliki of Iraq
    July 25, 2006

        President Bush. Thank you all. Please be seated.
        Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to the White House. I just had a very
    constructive meeting with the leader of a Government that has been
    chosen by the Iraqi people in free and fair elections. I appreciate your
    vision for a free Iraq, and I appreciate you briefing me on a strategy
    to reduce violence and to rebuild your country.
        You have a strong partner in the United States of America, and I'm
    honored to stand here with you, Mr. Prime Minister. It's a remarkable,
    historical moment, as far as I'm concerned, to welcome freely elected
    leader of Iraq to the White House.
        We discussed a lot of issues. The Prime Minister has laid out a
    comprehensive plan. That's what leaders do. They see problems; they
    address problems; and they lay out a plan to solve the problems. The
    Prime Minister understands he's got challenges, and he's identified
    priorities.
        Our priority is to help this Government succeed. It's in the
    national interest of the United States that a unity government, based
    upon a constitution that is advanced and modern, succeed. And that's
    what I told the Prime Minister. He comes wondering whether or not we're
    committed. He hears all kinds of stories here in the United States. And
    I assured him that this Government stands with the Iraqi people. We're
    impressed by your courage, Mr. Prime Minister, and we're impressed by
    the courage of the Iraqi people. And we want to help you.
        We talked about security in Baghdad. No question, the terrorists and
    extremists are brutal. These are people that just kill innocent people
    to achieve an objective, which is to destabilize his Government. The
    Prime Minister tells me that he and his Government are not shaken by
    these actions. They're concerned about them; they're not shaken by them.
        The Iraqi people want to succeed. They want to end this violence.
    Our strategy is to remain on the offense, including in Baghdad. Under
    the Prime Minister's leadership, coalition and Iraqi leaders are
    modifying their operational concept to bring greater security to the
    Iraqi capital. Coalition and Iraqi forces will secure individual
    neighborhoods, will ensure the existence of an Iraqi security presence
    in the neighborhoods, and gradually expand the security presence as
    Iraqi citizens help them root out those who instigate violence.
        This plan will involve embedding more U.S. military police with
    Iraqi police units to make them more effective. The Prime Minister
    advised me that to support this plan, he and General Casey have agreed to deploy additional American troops and
    Iraqi security personnel in Baghdad in the coming weeks. These will come
    from other areas of the country. Our military commanders tell me that
    this deployment will better reflect the current conditions on the ground
    in Iraq.
        We also agreed that Iraqi security forces need better tools to do
    their job. And so we'll work with them to equip them with greater
    mobility, firepower, and protection.
        We still face challenges in Baghdad, yet we see progress elsewhere
    in Iraq. Iraqi security forces are growing in strength and capability,
    and recently, a key Province in southern Iraq was transferred to full
    Iraqi civilian control. In the midst of all the violence in Baghdad,
    sometimes a success is obscured. And this transfer of a key Province is
    the beginning of other Provinces to be transferred to full Iraqi
    control. It's a sign of progress. No question, it's tough in Baghdad,
    and no question, it's tough in other parts of Iraq. But there are also

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    places where progress is being made, and the Prime Minister and I talked
    about that progress.
        The Prime Minister and I agreed to establish a joint committee to
    achieve Iraqi self-reliance. This new partnership will seek to ensure
    the smoothest and most effective assumption of security responsibility
    by Iraqi forces. Prime Minister Maliki was very clear this morning: He
    said he does not want American troops to leave his country until his
    Government can protect the Iraqi people. And I assured him that America
    will not abandon the Iraqi people.
        Tomorrow the Prime Minister and I will travel to Fort Belvoir in
    Virginia to visit with American troops and their families so we can
    thank them for their courage and their sacrifice. And we in the United
    States need to recognize the enormous sacrifice of the Iraqi people. The
    people are suffering hardships. These terrorists and killers are trying
    to shake the will of the Iraqi people. But despite large casualties,
    both civilian and military, the Iraqi people continue to stand for
    public office, enlist in their security forces, and, through their
    actions, demonstrate every day that they want to raise their families
    and live their lives like other free people around the world. And I'm
    impressed by the courage of the Iraqi citizens, Mr. Prime Minister.
        Citizens continue to believe in the future of their country and to
    subscribe to the notion upon which America is also founded, that the
    freedom of their country is worth fighting for. America is proud to be
    allied with such people. And it's important the Iraqi people hear of our
    pride and our determination, Mr. Prime Minister.
        We also discussed several new initiatives we're undertaking to
    create opportunity for the Iraqi people, and one of them is called the
    Iraqi Leaders Initiative. And starting next summer, 200 high school and
    university students from all regions of Iraq and all sectors of Iraqi
    society will come to America to study at local institutions and build
    personal friendships with the people of our country. This is going to be
    the largest program of its kind, and it will help build the next
    generation of leaders for a free and democratic Iraq.
        Prime Minister and I spent time talking about Lebanon, and we had a
    frank exchange on--of views on this situation. I listened closely to the
    Prime Minister, and I valued a chance to hear his perspective. I heard
    him on the seriousness of the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and the
    need to do more for the Lebanese people. I told him that Secretary Rice
    has announced greater humanitarian measures for Lebanon to include $30
    million in aid. America is concerned about the women and children who
    suffer in that country, concerned about the loss of innocent life. I
    reminded him and told him that Condi is
    over there working to establish corridors to ensure the delivery of
    humanitarian aid and central relief supplies.
        I told him I support a sustainable cease-fire that will bring about
    an end to violence. And I talked about the importance of strengthening
    the Lebanese Government and supporting the Lebanese people.
        Prime Minister and I also discussed his proposal for an
    international compact for Iraq. The compact will outline Iraq's
    commitment to specific economic reforms and the international
    community's commitment to support those reforms. We expect the
    international compact will be signed later this year. And I told the
    Prime Minister that the United States will work to encourage other
    countries to support the compact and for other countries that have made

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    pledges to Iraq to make good on their pledges.
        In light of the recent violence in the Middle East, some are
    questioning whether democracy can take root in the region. I believe
    that the Iraqi people are showing us their answer. They're making
    enormous sacrifices to secure their freedom, and they've elected leaders
    who are making tough decisions.
        And, Mr. Prime Minister, you're such a leader, and I welcome you
    here to the White House. Thanks for coming.
        Prime Minister Maliki. Thank you very much. In the name of God, the
    most merciful and the passionate, I would like to thank President George
    Bush. Mr. President, I would like to thank you for your invitation to
    come here and visit the United States of America, and I would like to
    thank you for the warm welcome that myself and my delegation received.
    And I also--I appreciate very much your interest in the situation in
    Iraq and the responsible spirit that has dominated our discussions
    today.
        We have discussed with President Bush, clearly and frankly, all the
    current challenges and the horizon and the future and ways of
    cooperation between our two countries in order to build a democratic,
    united, flourishing Iraq that enjoys its full national sovereignty. We
    have agreed that building the security and military institutions in
    Iraq, in terms of numbers, equipment, firearms, and as quickly as
    possible, represents the fundamental base in order to stabilize the
    country and to have security and defeat terrorism.
        I reaffirmed to the President Iraq's need to--the cooperation from
    the international community and your cooperation. And I have seen a
    great deal of understanding for this very vital issue from the
    President. I also expressed my appreciation to the role that's been
    played by the multinational forces and the exerted efforts to support us
    and to help us in building our security organizations, to allow our
    organizations to fully be in control of the security position and the
    security circumstances.
        I agreed with the President to form a joint committee of experts and
    the connections in order to achieve the self-sufficiency for the Iraqi
    forces. This will allow these forces to bear the responsibility of
    protecting security and confronting terrorism in our country. And in
    this field, we have achieved our first and initial success when our
    forces assumed the responsibility in the Muthanna Governorate. This is a
    very important step--will be followed by similar steps in many other
    governorates in Iraq.
        We are determined to defeat terrorism. And the security plan for
    Baghdad have entered the second phase, and it's achieving its objectives
    in hunting the terrorist networks and eliminating it.
        I have informed the President about the national reconciliation
    plan, which I have launched in order to attract more Iraqi forces which
    have not engaged in the political process yet. This initiative
    represents, in addition to building the Iraqi Armed Forces, one of the
    initiatives that will contribute to choking terrorism and defeating
    terrorism in Iraq.
        On the economic sphere and the reconstruction of Iraq, I have seen
    support from President Bush to ensure the success of the international
    impact, which we hope that, through it, we'll be able to have the
    support of the world community in reconstructing Iraq and improving the
    services that the Government is providing to its own Iraqi people. We
    hope that many other countries will participate and contribute in that
    conference that will be convened in the next few months in order to sign
    this international compact. I assured the President, Iraq's readiness to
    make this conference a success and accept the mutual commitments between
    Iraq and those who will sign the compact. The President reaffirmed his
    administration's commitment to encourage as many countries as possible
    to support this compact.

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        I also discussed with the President the issue of Lebanon in all
    seriousness, in a way that matches the importance of the size of
    destructions that happened to the Lebanese people as a result of the
    military air and ground attacks. And I also emphasized the importance of
    immediate cease-fire, and call on the international community to support
    the Lebanese Government and support the Lebanese people to overcome the
    damage and destruction that happened.
        I also expressed to the President about Iraq's desire and Iraq's
    political leadership's desire to merge in the international community
    and its institutions and to participate effectively in the various
    issues on the basis of mutual interest and to be committed to the policy
    of not interfering or intervening in the domestic policies of other
    countries. I also reaffirmed the importance of approaching every issue
    through peaceful and diplomatic means to deal with the problems that
    exist in our region. These chronic problems requires a great deal of
    wisdom and patience and perseverance in order to find the just and
    successful and fair solution.
        Mr. President, I thank you once again for your kind invitation and
    for your very warm hospitality and generosity.
        President Bush. ----questions a side, starting with you, Tom [Tom
    Raum, Associated Press].

    Security Situation in Baghdad

        Q. Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister, why should one expect this
    new security crackdown in Baghdad to succeed when all previous ones have
    failed?
        And, Mr. President, you've said before that withdrawal of U.S.
    troops would depend on conditions on the ground. What do conditions on
    the ground now in Baghdad suggest in terms of whether there can be a
    significant withdrawal of American forces by the end of the year?
        President Bush. I'll start--do you want to start? Go ahead.
        Prime Minister Maliki. Actually, the circumstances that the Baghdad
    security plans, or other plans related to Basra and other places, are
    different in terms of circumstances from the previous plans. Today, Iraq
    has a national unity Government that--it is basically composed of--all
    elements of the Iraqi people are represented in this Government. Iraq
    has a parliament; it has a Constitution to face all these challenges. So
    what the Baghdad security plan gains, in terms of support, is support
    from all over the segments of the Iraqi population.
        Secondly, by monitoring the reality on the ground, we will be able
    to ensure the success, especially what happens against the innocent
    people. The Baghdad security forces was able to eliminate many hotspots
    of crimes and troubles in Baghdad.
        President Bush. One of the things that's important is for--and one
    of the reasons why you trust the commanders on the ground is because
    there needs to be flexibility. And I explained to the Prime Minister
    that I'll be making my decisions based upon the recommendations of
    General Casey. And obviously, the
    violence in Baghdad is still terrible, and therefore, there needs to be
    more troops. In other words, the commanders said, ``What more can we do;
    how best to address the conditions on the ground?'' And they have
    recommended, as a result of working with the Prime Minister, based upon
    his recommendation, that we increase the number of U.S. troops in
    Baghdad alongside of Iraqi troops. And we're going to do that.
        The second request that the Prime Minister made was that he needs
    more equipment for his troops. And General Dempsey, along with General Casey,
    have reviewed his requests and his ideas. And I told the Prime Minister
    if this is what these generals recommend, it's what I support.
        Conditions change inside a country, Tom. And the question is, are we
    going to be facile enough to change with--will we be nimble enough; will
    we be able to deal

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    with the circumstances on the ground? And the answer is, yes, we will.
        Mr. Prime Minister, would you like to call on somebody? There you
    go.

    Iraq-U.S. Cooperation in the War on Terror

        Q. I have two questions--one, President Bush. The first one: Is
    there an obvious change that could be made to the security status, you
    politically--particularly in Baghdad right now?
        And the second question for you, Mr. Prime Minister. You said in a
    press conference in Baghdad that your visit to Washington, you will
    put--you will cross the t's and dot the i's, especially regarding the
    security needs. Did you cross the t's and dot the i's in your discussion
    with President Bush?
        President Bush. ----a lot of time talking about security, and I can
    understand why. Because there's--there are people who are willing to
    destroy innocent life to achieve a political objective. And the Prime
    Minister is deeply concerned about the lives of his fellow citizens. And
    I appreciate that concern. I would be very worried if a Prime Minister
    came to talk about his country and did not mention, first and foremost,
    protecting people's lives. That's, after all, the most important
    responsibility of government.
        And he believes, and I believe, that the--there needs to be more
    forces inside Baghdad who are willing to hold people to account. In
    other words, if you find somebody who's kidnaping and murdering, the
    murderer ought to be held to account. It ought to be clear in society
    that that kind of behavior is not tolerated.
        And that's the attitude of the Prime Minister. My attitude is, we
    shouldn't try to gauge whether or not someone is justified or not; we
    ought to be saying that if you murder, you're responsible for your
    actions. And I think the Iraqi people appreciate that type of attitude.
        And so we--so we're not only talking about adjusting a Baghdad plan
    at the Prime Minister's request to make it more effective--we're also
    talking about how to make the Iraqi Army more effective. But the truth
    of the matter is, the Iraqi Army is becoming a highly professional force
    that will help bring confidence to the people inside Iraq that the
    Government has got the capacity to protect them.
        Prime Minister Maliki. Thank you, Mr. President. Actually,
    successful acts and large issues has to be based on a clear vision. And
    through the serious discussion and the clear and the frank conversation
    that I had with President George Bush, that we are truly crossing the
    t's and dotting the i's in terms of enhancing the security and
    supporting the reconstruction. Through the discussion, we were able to
    go through the details of the vision that will cover the future, because
    we are not talking here about a specific phase of the reconstruction,
    but we are facing the necessity of continuous work in order to make sure
    that the entire political experiment will succeed.
        I believe with a great deal of confidence that I have reaffirmed
    through this, and I became convinced that--I have full confidence of
    victory, and we will be highly capable of defeating terrorism in Iraq.

    Situation in the Middle East/Democracy in Iraq

        Q. ----you had a frank exchange on the Middle East. How can you get
    Arab nations to apply pressure to stop the fighting in the Middle East
    if allies like the Prime Minister won't condemn Hizballah?
        And, Mr. Prime Minister, what exactly is your position on Hizballah?
    Thank you.
        President Bush. The terrorists are afraid of democracies. And what
    you've witnessed in Israel, in my judgment, is the act of a terrorist
    organization trying to stop the advance of democracy in the region.
        I assured the Prime Minister that I care deeply about the suffering
    that takes place,

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    that we understand the anguish of leaders in the region who see innocent
    people losing their life. I also assured him that Condi Rice's mission is to help get humanitarian aid to the
    Lebanese people. She's working on not only air corridors but sea
    corridors and land corridors to get aid to the people. And the United
    States will participate, as will other nations.
        I also talked about making sure that we adhere to U.N. Resolution
    1559, which basically--not basically--strongly urges political parties
    not to be armed. A key part of our strategy is to support democracy. And
    so not only do we support democracy in the Palestinian Territory, we
    also support the Lebanese democracy. I think the Prime Minister was
    pleased to hear my strong support for the Siniora Government.
        And so Condi goes with the following
    messages: We support the Siniora Government; we
    care about the people; we will help to get aid to the people; and that
    we want a sustainable cease-fire. We don't want something that's short-
    term in duration. We want to address the root causes of the violence in
    the area, and therefore, our mission and our goal is to have a lasting
    peace, not a temporary peace but something that lasts.
        And I believe that Iraq, in some ways, faces the same difficulty,
    and that is, a new democracy is emerging and there are people who are
    willing to use terrorist techniques to stop it. That's what the murder
    is all about. People fear democracy if your vision is based upon kind of
    a totalitarian view of the world. And that's the ultimate challenge
    facing Iraq and Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, and that is,
    will the free world, and the neighborhood, work in concert to help
    develop sustainable democracy?
        And Iraq took a long step along that--a big step on that path when
    they developed a Constitution that was ratified by the Iraqi people. And
    it's a modern Constitution, and it's a landmark moment in the history of
    freedom advancing in the Middle East.
        I believe that deep in everybody's soul, Mr. Prime Minister, is a
    desire to be free. And when 12 million Iraqis went to the polls and
    said, ``I want to be free,'' it was an amazing moment. I know it seems
    like a long, long time ago that that happened. But it was a powerful
    statement about what is possible in terms of achieving peace.
        Prime Minister Maliki. Thank you. Here, actually, we're talking
    about the suffering of a people in a country. And we are not in the
    process of reviewing one issue or another, or any government position.
    The important thing here is what we are trying to do is to stop the
    killing and the destruction, and then we leave the room and the way for
    the international and diplomatic efforts and international organization
    to play the role to be there.
        We are not here facing a situation only in Lebanon, but would be
    facing a variety of issues in different countries. I'm talking here
    about the approach that should be used in order to stop this process of
    promoting hatred; that has to be superior decisions coming from above in
    order to protect these experiments, particularly the democratic
    experiments that should be protected by those who are trying to oppose
    it.

    Israel-U.S. Relations/Rule of Law in Iraq

        Q. Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister. General Abizaid said
    that the danger that Iraq is facing is the religious danger. Do you
    agree with his assessment? And do you see that--is there any security
    plan that can really curb the religious violence?
        [Inaudible]--humanitarian aid to Lebanon, yet there's also reports
    that your administration are speeding up delivery of laser-guided
    missiles to Israel and bunker-buster bombs. And do you see this--if this
    is true, do you see it as contradictory? On one hand, you allow Israel
    to kill people, and civilian, in particular, and on the other

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    hand, you're trying to aid the very people that have been suffering and
    killed as a result?
        President Bush. No, I don't see a contradiction in us honoring
    commitments we made prior to Hizballah attacks into Israeli territory.
    And I--like the Prime Minister, I'm concerned about loss of innocent
    life, and we will do everything we can to help move equipment--I mean,
    food and medicines to help the people who have been displaced and the
    people who suffer.
        Prime Minister Maliki. Yes. I do not reduce the risk and the danger
    of the religious feelings, especially through some of the organizations
    that are trying to promote this hatred. And there are--some of the
    events are on the basis of religious divide, but I would like to assure
    the political, religious leaders, and civil societies that the Iraqi
    parties, politicians, religious leaders are rising to their
    responsibility and are condemning those who are cooperating with Al
    Qaida and those who are trying to start a civil war.
        The one--the most important element in the security plan is to curb
    the religious violence, because we will not allow any Iraqis to use this
    background. This is one of the main objective of the security plan. It
    is the policy of the Government: There is no killing or discrimination
    against anyone. Everything is by law and everything based on the
    Constitution and the law. The Government responsibility is to protect
    all Iraqis, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. It's
    important to say that we are shedding the light against those who are
    calling for sectarian religious, because we feel that this is a great
    danger to Iraq. And, God willing, there will be no civil war in Iraq.
        Thank you very much.
        President Bush. Thank you.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 11:27 a.m. in the East
    Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. George W.
    Casey, Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; Lt.
    Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, USA, commander, Multi-National Security
    Transition Command--Iraq and NATO Training Mission--Iraq; and Prime
    Minister Fuad Siniora of Lebanon. A reporter referred to Gen. John P.
    Abizaid, USA, commander, U.S. Central Command. Prime Minister Maliki and
    some reporters spoke in Arabic, and their remarks were translated by an
    interpreter.