[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
[September 17, 2007]
[Page 1205]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Teleconference Remarks With Provincial Reconstruction Team Leaders and 
Brigade Combat Commanders in Iraq
September 17, 2007

    Secretary Rice and Secretary 
Gates, General Pace, 
members of my national security team have just listened to some 
briefings from Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq. I want to thank 
our fellow citizens for serving on the frontline of--in this war against 
extremists and radicals. I appreciate their dedication, and I appreciate 
the sacrifice of their families.
    General Odierno just briefed us on an 
interesting statistic. He said that for the week of September 8-15, 
attack levels across Iraq are the lowest they have been since January of 
2006, which, of course, is a time prior to the Samarra bombing. And when 
you couple that with the grassroots efforts that our PRT--Provincial 
Reconstruction Teams are making, you begin to get a sense of why I'm 
confident that we can succeed in Iraq, why I believe that the efforts 
that we're making toward making sure that an extremists like Al Qaida 
doesn't have safe haven from which to plot attacks and, at the same 
time, helping people realize the blessings of liberty, which will yield 
long-term peace, can happen, can succeed.
    And so I told the folks there that, on behalf of a grateful nation, 
that we thank them for what they're doing. And I look forward to further 
discussions with those who actually see the progress that is taking 
place, with those who are living amongst the people and can report 
firsthand that the success that was reported on by General 
Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker now happens on a--is happening on a daily basis.
    Now, there's no question, we got more work to be done. But the 
question I always ask myself is, is the mission important to the 
security of the United States? And the answer is, absolutely. And can we 
be successful? And the answer to that is, yes, we can.
    And I want to thank you all very much for seeing to it that we will 
be successful. Thank you for your time, and we ask for God's blessings 
on you.
    Thank you.

Note: The teleconference began at 10:10 a.m. The President spoke in the 
Roosevelt Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Lt. 
Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, USA, commanding general, Multi-National Corps--
Iraq; and Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-
National Force--Iraq.