    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [September 8, 2007]
    [Pages 1188-1190]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    September 8, 2007

        Good morning. Earlier this week, I traveled to Iraq's Anbar Province
    to visit our troops and see with my own eyes the remarkable changes they
    are making possible. If you want to see some photos from this trip, go
    to whitehouse.gov, where you can view a slideshow of my visit.
        Success in Anbar is critical to the democratic future of Iraq and to
    the war on terror. This largely Sunni Province covers nearly a third of
    Iraq. It stretches from the outskirts of Baghdad to Iraq's borders with
    Jordan and Syria and Saudi Arabia. And until recently, Anbar was Al
    Qaida's chief base of operations in Iraq.
        Last year at this time, Anbar was all over the news. Newspapers at
    the time cited a leaked intelligence report that was pessimistic about
    our prospects there. One columnist summed it up this way: ``The war is
    over in Anbar Province, and the United States lost.'' But local citizens
    soon saw what life under Al Qaida meant for them. The terrorists
    brutalized the people of Anbar and killed those who opposed their dark
    ideology. So the tribal sheikhs of Anbar came together to fight Al
    Qaida. They asked for support from the coalition and the Iraqi
    Government, and we responded.
        Together, we have driven Al Qaida out of strongholds in Anbar. The
    level of violence is down. Local governments are meeting again. Young
    Sunnis are joining the police and army. And normal life is returning.
    The people of Anbar have seen that standing up to the terrorists and
    extremists leads to a better life. And Anbar has shown that improving
    security is the first step toward achieving economic progress and
    political reconciliation.
        On my visit, I met with tribal sheikhs who have fought with us
    against Al Qaida and who are now building a better future

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    for their people and for all Iraqis. One Sunni sheikh told me: ``We have suffered a great deal from
    terrorism. We strongly support the democracy you have called for. The
    previous regime [of Saddam Hussein] should not be characterized as a
    Sunni regime; it was a regime against the Sunnis, Shi'a, and the
    Kurds.''
        I also met with national leaders from Iraq's Government: President
    Talabani and Prime Minister Maliki, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, Vice President Abd Al-Mahdi, Vice President Hashimi,
    and President Barzani of the Kurdish region.
    These men come from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, but they
    all understand the importance of succeeding in Anbar. And so they're
    reaching out to help, with positive steps such as sharing oil revenues
    with Provincial leaders. I thanked the representatives of Iraq's
    Government for their efforts to support the bottom-up progress in Anbar.
    And I told them that the American people expect them to meet their
    commitments and pass the legislation they've agreed on.
        While in Iraq, I also received a good briefing from General David
    Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan
    Crocker. They gave me an update on our
    military and political and economic efforts to support our Iraqi
    partners. They told me about the progress they're seeing across Iraq and
    their ideas for the way forward. In the next few days, they will come to
    Washington to give Congress their assessment of conditions on the
    ground. I urge the Members of Congress to listen to these two well-
    respected professionals before jumping to any conclusions.
        Most importantly, during my visit, I met with our troops serving in
    Anbar. Every day, these fine men and women show courage under incredibly
    difficult circumstances. The work they're doing on the sands of Anbar is
    making us safer in the streets of America. Because of their bravery and
    sacrifice, our troops in Iraq are denying Al Qaida safe havens from
    which to plot and plan and carry out attacks against Americans both here
    and abroad. I know how hard it is for our men and women in uniform to be
    away from their families. I told them our Nation appreciates their
    willingness to serve and that the American people stand with them.
        Next week, after consulting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my
    national security team, Members of Congress from both parties, and Iraqi
    leaders, I will speak directly to the Nation about the recommendations
    General Petraeus and Ambassador
    Crocker have presented to me. I will discuss
    the changes our strategy has brought to Iraq. I will lay out a vision
    for future involvement in Iraq--one that I believe the American people
    and their elected leaders of both parties can support. By coming
    together on the way forward, we will strengthen Iraq's democracy, deal a
    blow to our enemies, secure interests in the Middle East, and make our
    Nation safer.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 6 p.m. on September 6 at the
    InterContinental Sydney in Sydney, Australia, for broadcast at 10:06
    a.m., e.d.t., on September 8. The transcript was made available by the
    Office of the Press Secretary on September 7, but was embargoed for
    release until the broadcast. Due to the 14-hour time difference, the
    radio address was broadcast after the President's remarks in Sydney,
    Australia. In his address, the President referred to Sheikh Abdul Sattar
    Bezia al-Rishawi, leader, Anbar Salvation Council; and Gen. David H.
    Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq. The
    Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
    transcript of this address.

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