    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [March 15, 2007]
    [Pages 316-317]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Vice President Adil Abd Al-Mahdi of Iraq
    March 15, 2007

        President Bush. It is such an honor to welcome the Vice President of
    a free Iraq to the Oval Office.
        Mr. Vice President, I appreciate your courage. I don't know if the
    citizens of my country know, but the other day, a killer tried to take
    your life. And fortunately, you sit here, and you speak with enthusiasm
    and optimism about the future of your country.
        One of the reasons why--the main reason why I've reinforced our
    troops in Iraq is to give leaders such as yourself the opportunity to do
    the hard work of reconciliation. I appreciate very much the progress
    that you're making. I know it's hard work. It's hard work to overcome
    distrust that has built up over the years because your country was ruled
    by a tyrant that created distrust amongst people.
        But you, Mr. Vice President, are showing strong vision and a vision
    of peace and reconciliation. And I welcome you to the Oval Office. I
    thank you for your courage, and I thank you for the conversation we've
    had.
        Vice President Abd Al-Mahdi. Thank you. Thank you, President. Thank
    you for receiving me, and the present occasion to thank you personally
    and to thank the American people for all the support you've given to
    Iraq, the sacrifices. Also, I visited yesterday some soldiers in the
    hospital, and I saw their high spirit. They had, really, better morality
    than I had, talking about their mission.
        We are working hard together. Our security plan is marking some
    points. We are not finished, but we are doing better than expected in
    this plan. This will not solve the whole problem; the reconciliation
    process will take our political agenda forward. We are working on many
    issues: the hydrocarbon law, which we approved in the Cabinet; we are
    working on a de-Baathification

    [[Page 317]]

    law, and it will be presented later. We are working on so many things.
        So really, I want to take this occasion to thank all Americans--the
    United States, you, Mr. President, the Congress, the administration--for
    all the sacrifices, effort, assistance given to help my country. Thank
    you.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:55 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House.