    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 26, 2006]
    [Pages 1445-1447]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Lunch With Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq and Military Personnel at Fort Belvoir, Virginia
    July 26, 2006

        President Bush. Thank you all for such gracious hospitality. I
    thought I would drop by with the Prime Minister of Iraq. [Laughter] I
    wanted him to be with some of the finest citizens in the United States
    of America.
        I appreciate our Ambassador to Iraq joining us today, Zal
    Khalilzad. Mr. Ambassador, thank you for
    coming. Ambassador Sumaydi, from
    Iraq to the United States, is with us. Ambassador, thank you for coming.
    I appreciate the Members of the United States Senate who have joined us,
    Senator Warner and Senator Allen. Thank you all for being here. I appreciate you joining
    us. I want to thank Congressman Jim Moran and
    Congressman Tom Davis for joining us.
        Mr. Prime Minister, obviously, Members of the United States Congress
    are interested in you. [Laughter] They're also interested in the United
    States military. And they know what I know, that anytime we've got a man
    or woman in uniform in harm's way, they deserve all the possible support
    necessary to complete the mission.
        I want to thank Colonel Lauritzen and
    all the folks who made this visit possible. It's an honor to be here,
    and it's an honor to be with the family members of our troops.
        Mr. Prime Minister, when I speak to our troops, I also talk to their
    loved ones, because you can't have a strong United States military
    without the support of the military families. Our troops have
    sacrificed, and as they have done so, so have our military families. And
    so today we pay respect for the men and women who wear the uniform and
    their loved ones. We're proud of you.
        There's no better place to come than Fort Belvoir, Mr. Prime
    Minister, because here there are some 120 military commands representing
    the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, all branches
    of the United States military who have served with distinction in
    fighting the terrorists who would like to do us harm and prevent your
    good country from becoming a democracy.
        I tell our folks that success in Iraq is necessary for the security
    of the United States, and it's necessary for the peace of the world. One
    of the things that--one of the lessons we can learn from history is that
    freedom and liberty and democracies have got the capacity to convert
    enemies into allies and to lay the foundation for peace.
        Now, Mr. Prime Minister, we were deeply moved when 12 million of
    your citizens went to the polls last December. It was really a
    remarkable statement, wasn't it? Twelve million citizens, who at one
    time had lived under the thumb of a brutal tyrant, went to the polls and said, ``We want to be free.''
    And out of that election, Mr. Prime Minister, you and your Government
    have emerged.
        We respect the fact that your Government represents the will of the
    Iraqi people. One thing the Prime Minister told me getting out of the
    limousine, after having flown on the helicopter--[laughter]--was that he
    longs for the day when the Iraqi children can live in a hopeful society.
    That's what he wants. He wants the Iraqi people to enjoy the benefits
    that most people in other countries enjoy. It is a simple concept in
    many ways, yet is profound, because my reaction upon hearing his words
    was, this man will succeed if he cares first and foremost about the
    people and the condition of the Iraqi people. If he's the kind of leader
    like I know he is, who cares about generations of Iraqis to come, he
    will be successful.

    [[Page 1446]]

        We've got hard work to do together, Mr. Prime Minister. We were
    talking here at the table, and I was commenting that it's amazing, isn't
    it, where some people decide to kill innocent lives to stop freedom. And
    frankly, that's a hard concept for some of us to understand. But I
    understand this: That in order for freedom to succeed, those folks have
    got to be brought to justice. They cannot be allowed to kill the
    innocent.
        And that's why we've sent some of our finest citizens to help you,
    Mr. Prime Minister. We want you to succeed. It's in our Nation's
    interest that you succeed. And I'm confident we will succeed. The Prime
    Minister came, and he didn't say this directly to me, but I could tell
    by looking in my eyes, he wanted to make sure that this was a President
    who kept his word. I've told the Iraqi people, we stand with you, and
    that no matter how tough it gets, we will complete this mission. We owe
    it to those who have served in combat. We owe it to those who have lost
    a limb. We owe it to those who have lost a life.
        Fort Belvoir lost a good man recently in Sergeant First Class Scott
    Smith. He was killed by an IED. He helped save
    lives. He helped lay that foundation for peace. And in honor of his
    memory and in the memory of others who have gone before him, in honor of
    the thousands of Iraqis who have died at the hands of terrorists, we
    will complete the mission. It's in our interest, Mr. Prime Minister,
    that we succeed together.
        And so I've asked you to come, to be in the midst of those who have
    served our country. The amazing thing about our military is that people
    have had to say, ``I want to serve.'' Every person you see here in
    uniform, Mr. Prime Minister, has volunteered to serve the United States
    of America. And in so doing, they have set a fantastic example for
    generations to come, and they have made the United States of America
    incredibly proud.
        So I'd like to welcome you to the podium, Mr. Prime Minister. And as
    you come up here and look at the folks here in uniform, you've got to
    know how proud their Commander in Chief is to be able to serve alongside
    of them as we do our duty with honor for our country.
        Mr. Prime Minister.
        Prime Minister Maliki. I would like to thank the President for his
    invitation. And I would also like to thank the Members of Congress who
    are with us today here--and to the sons and families of the Armed Forces
    who are here with us in this celebration. When I stand here in front of
    you and I salute you, I would like to appreciate what you have done and
    what you have achieved.
        I appreciate your colleagues who offered their lives on the land of
    Iraq, and I tell you that Iraqis will never forget these sacrifices
    because they have really participated in ridding Iraq of dictatorship,
    one of the ugliest regimes that the region has known. And we are happy
    to be partners in this holy task of fighting terrorism and establishing
    democracy.
        Iraq, because of what you have offered, because of what your sons
    have offered, your families have offered, has now moved from
    dictatorship to democracy; from oppression, torture chambers, chemical
    weapons, and now into a space of freedom, liberty, and partnership; from
    depravation and absolute poverty into the condition where we now are
    looking forward to economic prosperity, because Iraq is a rich country,
    and the previous regime has wasted all the wealth of Iraq in his
    adventures.
        I sympathize with those who made sacrifices, and I sympathize with
    the families who have lost some loved ones. And I appreciate this
    sacrifice and this suffering, because I am one of the people who
    sacrificed and suffered in Iraq. The previous

    [[Page 1447]]

    regime had sentenced me to death and actually has executed 67 members of
    my family and relatives. And I can feel the bitterness of the loss when
    someone loses a dear member of his family, a son or a spouse.
        When blood mixes together in the field, aiming to achieve one goal,
    this blood will help in establishing long-lasting relationship between
    us. Our relationship will stay forever.
        Terrorists still carry out, on daily basis, these crazy actions
    against innocent civilians: their suicide bombs, their car bombs against
    the innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the conflict in Iraq.
    They want to kill democracy as they kill humans. But they will
    definitely fail, because we are committed to success, and we are
    committed to democracy. And the daily killing does not prevent Iraqis
    from carrying out and going along with their daily lives. And we are
    confident that we will succeed, because you and people like you are
    helping us to confront terrorism--terrorism that is spreading in our
    land--with foreign support.
        Lastly, on behalf of myself and on behalf of the Iraqi people, I
    would like to thank you and thank your families. I would like to
    appreciate your losses, your sacrifices, appreciate the bitterness of
    those who have lost loved ones. I hope that you can go past your losses,
    and I hope that you can compensate it with--compensate it about what's
    happened.
        And we feel pain and sorrow for every drop of blood that falls in
    Iraq. But once again, we give you all the salute--we salute you, and we
    thank you very much for all that you've offered to Iraq.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:17 p.m. at the Fort Belvoir Community
    Club. In his remarks, he referred to Iraq's Ambassador to the U.S. Samir
    Shakir al-Sumaydi; Col. Brian W. Lauritzen, USA, garrison commander, Ft.
    Belvoir; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Prime Minister
    Maliki spoke in Arabic, and his remarks were translated by an
    interpreter.