    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [April 10, 2008]
    [Pages 493-497]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the War on Terror
    April 10, 2008

        Thank you. Please be seated. Good morning. Fifteen months ago, I
    announced the surge. And this week, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker gave
    Congress a detailed report on the results.
        The immediate goal of the surge was to bring down the sectarian
    violence that threatened to overwhelm the Government in Baghdad, restore
    basic security to Iraqi communities, and drive the terrorists out of
    their safe havens. As General Petraeus
    told Congress, American and Iraqi forces have made significant progress
    in all these areas. While there is more to be done, sectarian violence
    is down dramatically. Civilian deaths and military deaths are also down.
    Many neighborhoods once controlledby Al Qaida have been liberated. And
    cooperation from Iraqis is stronger than ever, with more tips from
    residents, more Iraqis joining their security forces, and a growing
    movement against Al Qaida called the Sons of Iraq.
        Improvements in security have helped clear the way for political and
    economic developments described by Ambassador Crocker. These gains receive less media coverage, but they are
    vital to Iraq's future. At the local level, businesses are reopening,
    and Provincial councils are meeting. At the national level, there's much
    work ahead, but the Iraqi Government has passed a budget and three major
    benchmark laws.

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    The national Government is sharing oil revenues with the Provinces. And
    many economic indicators in Iraq, from oil production to inflation, are
    now pointed in the right direction.
        Serious and complex challenges remain in Iraq, from the presence of
    Al Qaida to the destructive influence of Iran to hard compromises needed
    for further political progress. Yet with the surge, a major strategic
    shift has occurred. Fifteen months ago, America and the Iraqi Government
    were on the defensive. Today, we have the initiative. Fifteen months
    ago, extremists were sowing sectarian violence. Today, many mainstream
    Sunni and Shi'a are actively confronting the extremists. Fifteen months
    ago, Al Qaida had bases in Iraq that it was using to kill our troops and
    terrorize the Iraqi people. Today, we have put Al Qaida on the defensive
    in Iraq, and we're now working to deliver a crippling blow. Fifteen
    months ago, Americans were worried about the prospect of failure in
    Iraq. Today, thanks to the surge, we've renewed and revived the prospect
    of success.
        With this goal in mind, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have
    submitted recommendations on the way forward. After detailed discussions
    with my national security team, including the Secretary of
    Defense, Secretary of State, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I've accepted
    these recommendations.
        A recommendation likely to receive the most attention is on troop
    levels. General Petraeus has reported that
    security conditions have improved enough to withdraw all five surge
    brigades by the end of July. That means that by July 31, the number of
    U.S. combat brigades in Iraq will be down by 25 percent from last year.
        Beyond that, General Petraeus says
    he'll need time to consolidate his forces and assess how this reduced
    American presence will affect conditions on the ground before making
    measured recommendations on further reductions. And I've told him he'll
    have all the time he needs.
        Some have suggested that this period of evaluation will be a pause.
    That's misleading, because none of our operations in Iraq will be on
    hold. Instead, we will use the months ahead to take advantage of the
    opportunities created by the surge and continue operations across the
    board.
        All our efforts are aimed at a clear goal: a free Iraq that can
    protect its people, support itself economically, and take charge of its
    own political affairs. No one wants to achieve this goal more than the
    Iraqis themselves. Those who say that the way to encourage further
    progress is to back off and force the Iraqis to fend for themselves are
    simply wrong. The Iraqis are a proud people who understand the enormity
    of the challenges they face and are anxious to meet them. But they know
    that they still need our help until they can stand by themselves. Our
    job in the period ahead is to stand with the Iraqi Government as it
    makes tough choices and makes the transition to responsibility for its
    own security and its own destiny.
        So what will the transition look like? On the security front, thanks
    to the significant progress General Petraeus reported this week, it is clear that we're on the right
    track. In the period ahead, we will stay on the offense against the
    enemy. As we speak, U.S. Special Forces are launching multiple
    operations every night to capture or kill Al Qaida leaders in Iraq.
    Coalition and Iraqi forces are also stepping up conventional operations
    against Al Qaida in northern Iraq, where terrorists have concentrated
    after being largely pushed from central and western Iraq. And Prime
    Minister Maliki's Government launched
    operations in Basra that make clear a free Iraq will no longer tolerate
    the lawlessness by Iranian-backed militants.
        In the period ahead, we'll also continue to train, equip, and
    support the Iraqi security forces, continue to transfer security
    responsibilities to them as Provinces become ready and move, over time,
    into an overwatch role. The Iraqi Army and police

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    are increasingly capable and leading the fight to secure their country.
    As Iraqis assume the primary role in providing security, American forces
    will increasingly focus on targeted raids against the terrorists and
    extremists. They will continue training Iraqi forces, and they will be
    available to help Iraq's security forces if required.
        On the economic front, Iraq is moving forward. With Iraq's economy
    growing, oil revenues on the rise, and its capital investment expanding,
    our economic role in the country is changing. Iraqis, in their recent
    budget, would outspend us on reconstruction by more than 10 to 1. And
    American funding for large-scale reconstruction projects is approaching
    zero. Our share of Iraq's security costs will drop as well, as Iraqis
    pay for the vast majority of their own army and police. And that's the
    way it should be. Ultimately, we expect Iraq to shoulder the full burden
    of these costs. In the period ahead, Iraq's economy will increasingly
    move away from American assistance, rely on private investment, and
    stand on its own.
        On the political front, Iraq has seen bottom-up progress, as tribes
    and other groups in the Provinces who fought terror are now turning to
    rebuilding local political structures and taking charge of their own
    affairs. Progress in the Provinces is leading to progress in Baghdad. As
    Iraqi leaders increasingly act together, they share power, and they
    forge compromises on behalf of the nation. Upcoming elections will
    consolidate this progress. They'll provide a way for Iraqis to settle
    disputes through the political process instead of through violence.
    Iraqis plan to hold Provincial elections later this year, and these
    elections will be followed by national elections in 2009.
        On the diplomatic front, Iraq will increase its engagement in the
    world, and the world must increase its engagement with Iraq. To help in
    this effort, I'm directing Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus to
    visit Saudi Arabia on their trip back to Iraq. I'm directing our
    Nation's senior diplomats to meet with the leaders in Jordan, the UAE,
    and Qatar and Kuwait and Egypt. In each capital, they will brief them on
    the situation in Iraq and encourage these nations to reopen their
    Embassies in Baghdad and increase their overall support for Iraq. This
    will be followed by Secretary Rice's trip
    to the third Expanded Neighbors Conference in Kuwait City and the second
    International Compact with Iraq meeting in Stockholm.
        A stable, successful, independent Iraq is in the strategic interests
    of Arab nations. And all who want peace in the Middle East should
    support a stable, democratic Iraq. And we will urge all nations to
    increase their support this year.
        The regime in Tehran also has a choice to make: It can live in peace
    with its neighbor, enjoy strong economic and cultural and religious
    ties, or it can continue to arm and train and fund illegal militant
    groups which are terrorizing the Iraqi people and turning them against
    Iran. If Iran makes the right choice, America will encourage a peaceful
    relationship between Iran and Iraq. If Iran makes the wrong choice,
    America will act to protect our interests and our troops and our Iraqi
    partners.
        On each of these fronts--security, economic, political, and
    diplomatic--Iraqis are stepping forward to assume more responsibility
    for the welfare of their people and the fate of their country. In all
    these fronts, America will continue to play an increasingly supporting
    role.
        Our work in Iraq will still demand sacrifices from our whole Nation,
    especially our military, for some time to come. To ease the burden on
    our troops and their families, I've directed the Secretary of
    Defense to reduce deployment lengths from 15
    months to 12 months for all active Army soldiers deploying to the
    Central Command area of operations. These changes will be effective for
    those deploying after August 1st. We'll also ensure that our Army units
    will have at least a year

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    home for every year in the field. Our Nation owes a special thanks to
    the soldiers and families who've supported this extended deployment. And
    we owe a special thanks to all who serve in the cause of freedom in
    Iraq.
        The stress on our force is real, but the Joint Chiefs have assured
    me that an all-volunteer force--our All-Volunteer Force is strong and
    resilient enough to fight and win this war on terror. The trends in Iraq
    are positive. Our troops want to win. Recruiting and retention have
    remained strong during the surge. And I believe this: I believe the
    surest way to depress morale and weaken the force would be to lose in
    Iraq.
        One key to ensuring that our military remains ready is to provide
    the resources they need promptly. Congress will soon consider a vital
    emergency war funding request. Members of Congress must pass a bill that
    provides our troops the resources they need and does not tie the hands
    of our commanders or impose artificial timelines for withdrawal. This
    bill must also be fiscally responsible. It must not exceed the
    reasonable $108 billion request I sent to Congress months ago. If the
    bill meets all these requirements, it will be a strong show of support
    for our troops; if it doesn't, I'll veto it.
        Some in Washington argue that the war costs too much money. There's
    no doubt that the costs of this war have been high. But during other
    major conflicts in our history, the relative cost has been even higher.
    Now, think about the cold war. During the Truman and Eisenhower
    administrations, our defense budget rose as high as 13 percent of our
    total economy. Even during the Reagan administration, when our economy
    expanded significantly, the defense budget still accounted for about 6
    percent of GDP. Our citizens recognized that the imperative of stopping
    Soviet expansion justified this expense.
        Today, we face an enemy that is not only expansionist in its aims
    but has actually attacked our homeland and intends to do so again. Yet
    our defense budget accounts for just over 4 percent of our economy, less
    than our commitment at any point during the four decades of the cold
    war. This is still a large amount of money, but it is modest--a modest
    fraction of our Nation's wealth, and it pales when compared to the cost
    of another terrorist attack on our people.
        We should be able to agree that this is a burden worth bearing. And
    we should be able to agree that our national interest require the
    success of our mission in Iraq.
        Iraq is the convergence point for two of the greatest threats to
    America in this new century: Al Qaida and Iran. If we fail there, Al
    Qaida would claim a propaganda victory of colossal proportions, and they
    could gain safe havens in Iraq from which to attack the United States,
    our friends, and our allies. Iran would work to fill the vacuum in Iraq,
    and our failure would embolden its radical leaders and fuel their
    ambitions to dominate the region. The Taliban in Afghanistan and Al
    Qaida in Pakistan would grow in confidence and boldness. And violent
    extremists around the world would draw the same dangerous lesson they
    did from our retreats in Somalia and Vietnam. This would diminish our
    Nation's standing in the world and lead to massive humanitarian
    casualties and increase the threat of another terrorist attack on our
    homeland.
        On the other hand, if we succeed in Iraq, after all that Al Qaida
    and Iran have invested there, it would be an historic blow to the global
    terrorist movement and a severe setback for Iran. It would demonstrate
    to a watching world that mainstream Arabs reject the ideology of Al
    Qaida and mainstream Shi'a reject the ideology of Iran's radical regime.
    It would give America a new partner with a growing economy and a
    democratic political system in which Sunnis and Shi'a and Kurds all work
    together for the good of their country. And in all these ways, it would
    bring us closer

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    to our most important goal: making the American people safer here at
    home.
        I want to say a word to our troops and civilians in Iraq. You've
    performed with incredible skill under demanding circumstances. The
    turnaround you have made possible in Iraq is a brilliant achievement in
    American history. And while this war is difficult, it is not endless.
    And we expect that as conditions on the ground continue to improve, they
    will permit us to continue the policy of return on success. The day will
    come when Iraq is a capable partner of the United States. The day will
    come when Iraq is a stable democracy that helps fight our common enemies
    and promote our common interests in the Middle East. And when that day
    arrives, you'll come home with pride in your success and the gratitude
    of your whole Nation. God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:24 a.m. in the Cross Hall at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA,
    commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; and Prime Minister Nuri
    al-Maliki of Iraq.