    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [December 11, 2006]
    [Pages 2173-2174]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Senior State Department Officials
    December 11, 2006

        Thank you all for coming. I just had a briefing with my senior
    policy advisers here at the State Department. I want to thank you for
    your hospitality, Madam Secretary.
        We talked about a lot of things. We talked about what's taking place
    on the ground in Iraq, particularly from the perspective of the State
    Department. I must tell you, there are some fantastic, brave souls who
    are heading PRTs, Provincial Reconstruction Teams. These are our
    civilian components on the ground there in Iraq. And we got a briefing
    from Baghdad, with one of our PRT leaders here in Washington, about the
    challenges and the tasks to help this Iraqi Government get a country
    that can sustain and govern and defend itself.
        No question in my mind, there are some very brave State Department
    officials who are engaged in this really important endeavor, and I want
    to thank them and their families. I appreciate the advice I got from
    those folks in the field. And that advice is an important part and an
    important component of putting together a new way forward in Iraq. Like
    most Americans, this administration wants to succeed in Iraq, because we
    understand success in Iraq will help protect the United States in the
    long run.
        We also talked about the neighborhood, the countries that surround
    Iraq and the responsibilities that they have to help this young Iraqi
    democracy survive. We believe that most of the countries understand that
    a mainstream society, a society that is a functioning democracy, is in
    their interests. And it's up to us to help focus their attentions and
    focus their efforts on helping the Iraqis succeed.
        I appreciate so very much the Iraqi leadership taking the lead in
    its neighborhood. After all, one of the things we're trying to do is
    help this Government get on its feet so it can govern and it can conduct
    its own foreign policy. But the role of America is to help this young
    democracy survive.
        I'm looking forward to continuing my deliberations with the
    military. There's no question, we've got to make sure that the State
    Department and the Defense Department are--the efforts and their
    recommendations are closely coordinated so that when I do speak to the
    American people, they will know that I've listened to all aspects of
    Government and that the way forward is the way forward to achieve our
    objective: to succeed in Iraq. And success is a country that governs,
    defends itself, that is a free society, that serves as an ally in this
    war on terror.
        And the reason why that's vital is because Iraq is a central
    component of defeating the extremists who want to establish safe haven
    in the Middle East, extremists who would use their safe haven from which
    to attack the United States, extremists and radicals who have stated
    that they want to topple moderate governments in order to be able to
    achieve assets necessary to effect their dream of spreading their
    totalitarian ideology as far and wide as possible.
        This is really the calling of our time, that is, to defeat these
    extremists and radicals. And Iraq is a component part, an important part
    of laying the foundation for peace.

    [[Page 2174]]

        And so, Madam Secretary, thank you for
    the briefing. I want to thank your team here in Washington for their
    good work, and I thank those out in the field who have shown such
    incredible bravery to do the hard work necessary to secure our country.
        Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:55 a.m. at the State Department.