    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [December 4, 2006]
    [Pages 2147-2148]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Chairman Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim of the Supreme Council for the Islamic
    Revolution in Iraq
    December 4, 2006

        President Bush. Your Eminence, welcome back to the Oval Office. This
    is the second opportunity I've had to meet with one of the distinguished
    leaders of a free Iraq. This is a man whose family suffered unbelievable
    violence at the hands of the dictator, Saddam Hussein. He lost nearly 60 family members, and yet rather than
    being bitter, he's involved with helping the new Government succeed.
        We talked about a lot of important issues. I appreciate so very much
    His Eminence's commitment to a unity government. I assured him the
    United States supports his work and the work of the Prime
    Minister to unify the country. Part of
    unifying Iraq is for the elected leaders and society leaders to reject
    the extremists that are trying to stop the advance of this young
    democracy. I appreciated very much His Eminence's strong position
    against the murder of innocent life.
        We talked about the need to give the Government of Iraq more
    capability as quickly as possible, so that the elected Government of
    Iraq can do that which the Iraqi people want, which is to secure their
    country from the extremists and murderers. I told His Eminence that I
    was proud of the courage of the Iraqi people. I told him that we're not
    satisfied with the pace of progress in Iraq, and that we want to
    continue to work with the sovereign Government of Iraq to accomplish our
    mutual objectives, which is a free country that can govern itself,
    sustain itself, and defend itself, a free country which will serve as an
    ally in the war against the extremists and radicals and terrorists.
        So, Your Eminence, welcome back. Thank you for the very constructive
    conversation we had.
        Chairman Hakim. In the name of God, the merciful, the passionate,
    and blessing upon Prophet Mohammed and his purified family and his loyal
    companions. My meeting with President Bush today emerges from our shared
    commitment towards continued dialog and consultation among us and also
    on the basis of our conviction that the Iraqi issue is a mutual
    interest. It's an issue that requires coordination between the two sides
    in a way that concerns both of us politically and from a security point
    of view and economic point of view as well.
        Therefore, our conversation today focused on ways to advance the
    work of the Iraqi Government, the elected Government, as well as to
    advance the whole situation in Iraq and move it forward. Also, we have
    discussed ways in order to provide all the necessities that the Iraqi
    Armed Forces will need, in terms of armament, in terms of trainings, in
    order to be in a position to assume the security file.
        The Iraqi situation is being subjected to a great deal of
    defamation, and the true picture is not being presented in order to show
    a dark side of what's happening in Iraq. We see the attempts to defame
    and distort the situation in Iraq, not taking into consideration the
    democratic steps that that

    [[Page 2148]]

    country has taken, writing the Constitution and establishing a state
    that depends heavily on the Constitution, that it is unified and that it
    is strong. There are attempts to show the sectarian strife in an attempt
    to weaken the position in Iraq.
        The U.S. interests, the Iraqi interests, the regional interests,
    they are all linked. Therefore, it is very important when we deal with
    this issue, we look at the interests of the Iraqi people. If we don't,
    this whole issue could backfire and could harm the interests of the
    region, the United States, and Iraq as well.
        Therefore, we believe that the Iraqi issue should be solved by the
    Iraqis with the help of friends everywhere. But we reject any attempts
    to have a regional or international role in solving the Iraqi issue. We
    cannot bypass the political process. Iraq should be in a position to
    solve Iraqi problems. We welcome any effort that could enhance the
    democratic reality in Iraq and protect the constitutional role of that
    state.
        We have gone a long way to establish a democratic and pluralistic
    society in Iraq. We have given a great deal of sacrifice toward
    achieving that objective. We cherish all the sacrifices that took place
    for the liberation and the freedom of Iraq, sacrifices by the Iraqi
    people, as well as friendly nations, and on top of that list, sacrifices
    by the Americans. We have now an elected government in Iraq, a
    government that it is so determined to combat both violence and terror,
    a government that it is--strongly believes in the unity of that
    government and of that country and the society, a government that deals
    and will deal with all the sources of terrorism regardless where they
    come from.
        We will work very hard and seek all forms of cooperation at the
    international level and the regional level in order to defeat terrorism,
    that it is trying to use Iraq as a base in order to sabotage the future
    of that nation.
        Thank you very much, Mr. President, for allowing me this opportunity
    to meet with you. I would like to take this opportunity also to thank
    the American people and their sympathy toward Iraq, those who helped
    Iraq to get rid of a brutal dictatorship and to enjoy freedom and
    liberties.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:26 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, the President referred to former President Saddam
    Hussein and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq. Chairman Hakim spoke
    in Arabic, and his remarks were translated by an interpreter.