    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [March 27, 2008]
    [Pages 423-431]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton,
    Ohio
    March 27, 2008

        Thank you all very much. Thank you all. General Metcalf, thanks. Thanks for welcoming me back here. I am
    really pleased to be back to Wright-Patt, and it's great to be on the
    inside of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, which is a
    fabulous place. I hope our fellow citizens come and see it. It is a
    great tribute to the airmen who've flown the missions and secured the
    skies and defended America's freedom.

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        I want to thank the folks who maintain this shrine. I thank you for
    giving me a place to park Air Force One. [Laughter] And I appreciate the
    hospitality of the people who serve our country here at Wright-Patt. And
    I want to thank you for coming to give me a chance to share with you an
    update on the historic work our Nation is undertaking in Iraq.
        Over the past year, we have seen significant security gains result
    from the surge. Less visible are the political and economic changes
    taking place, from major pieces of legislation being passed to simple
    signs of normalcy. This progress isn't glamorous, but it is important.
    And that's what I'm here to talk about today.
        But before I do so, I want to thank not only General
    Metcalf, but I want to thank Congressman
    Jim Jordan for serving our country. I appreciate
    the State auditor, Mary Taylor, for joining us
    today. Thank you for coming. I am grateful that the mayor, Mayor McLin, took time to come by and say hello. Madam
    Mayor, thank you very much for your--[applause]. Appreciate the other
    State and local officials.
        I do want to thank General Bruce Carlson,
    commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, Colonel Colleen Ryan, and all those who wear the uniform. I'm proud to
    be with you, and I'm proud to be your Commander in Chief.
        I thank very much the fact that Susan Kettering came, vice president of the Kettering Family Foundation.
    And the reason why she's important and the foundation is important is,
    they've been strong supporters of this museum.
        And finally, I want to recognize Amanda Wright Lane, great grandniece of Orville and Wilbur Wright. Thanks
    for coming. Nothing wrong with having famous relatives. [Laughter]
        This museum pays tribute to a--to great aircraft and great airmen
    and women, from the first fliers of the Great War to the aces of World
    War II to the daring pilots of Korea and Vietnam. And over the past 6
    years, a new generation of American airmen and women have joined that
    storied history. After all, the Air Force was critical in liberating the
    people of Afghanistan and the people of Iraq and taking the fight to the
    enemy overseas so we do not have to face them here at home. On a fateful
    day in this war, airmen delivered justice to the Al Qaida terrorist
    Zarqawi in the form of two precision-guided, 500-pound bombs.
        The military achievements in Iraq have been accompanied by a
    political transformation. It can feel like distant history, but it was
    only 5 years ago that Iraq was one of the most brutal dictatorships on
    Earth, a totalitarian nightmare where any election was a sham and
    dissenters often found themselves buried in mass graves. In a matter of
    15 months, the Iraqi people reclaimed their sovereignty. They went on to
    choose an interim Government and to ratify the most democratic
    Constitution in the Arab world. And in December 2005, 12 million Iraqis
    elected a Government under that Constitution, a display of courage that
    defied the terrorists, disproved the critics, and should always inspire
    the world.
        Tragically, the progress threatened to unravel in 2006. The new
    Government Iraqis elected took months to form. In the meantime, a
    terrorist attack on a Shi'a shrine in Samarra drove sectarian tensions
    past the breaking point. Sunni extremists, including Al Qaida
    terrorists, and Shi'a extremists, some backed by Iran, slaughtered
    innocent Iraqis in brutal attacks and reprisal killings. And across the
    country, political and economic activity was set back.
        We took a hard look at the situation and responded with the surge.
    This dramatic shift in policy had two primary goals. The first was to
    improve security conditions. So I ordered 30,000 additional soldiers and
    marines into Iraq and gave them a new mission: to focus on protecting
    the Iraqi people and to hold the gains that had been made.
        The other goal of the surge was to open up space for political and
    economic

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    progress after security returned. So we deployed additional civilian
    experts and more than doubled the number of Provincial Reconstruction
    Teams, with a mission to ensure that security gains were followed up by
    improvements in daily life.
        General Petraeus and Ambassador
    Crocker will provide more details about the
    progress of the surge when they testify before Congress early next
    month. But this much is clear: The surge is doing what it was designed
    to do. It's helping Iraqis reclaim security and restart political and
    economic life. It is bringing America closer to a key strategic victory
    in the war against these extremists and radicals.
        On the security side, the surge has brought important gains, which I
    discussed in detail last week in a speech at the Pentagon. In Baghdad,
    we've worked with Iraqi security forces to greatly diminish the
    sectarian violence and civilian deaths. We've broken the grip of Al
    Qaida on the capital. We've weakened the influence of Iranian-backed
    militias. We've dramatically improved security conditions in many
    devastated neighborhoods in what some have deemed a reliberation.
        In Anbar Province, which 18 months ago was declared lost to Al
    Qaida, we joined with the brave local sheiks who launched the first
    large-scale Arab uprising against Al Qaida. Together, we've
    systematically dismantled Al Qaida in that Province. In just over a
    year, Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, has seen its average number of
    attacks plummet from more than 18 per day to less than 1 per week. It's
    becoming clear that Anbar has not been lost to Al Qaida--that Al Qaida
    has been--has lost Anbar. And that's important because this is the place
    where Al Qaida leadership has said they will find safe haven from which
    to launch further attacks against the United States of America.
        In other parts of Iraq, from Baghdad belts to Diyala Province to
    parts of the south, we've worked with coalition and Iraqi forces to
    drive the terrorists out of strongholds and put them on the run. Now Al
    Qaida's concentrated its efforts in the area of Mosul, which is in
    northern Iraq. And there's going to be tough fighting in Mosul and in
    areas around Mosul in the weeks and months. But we are determined, along
    with the Iraqis, to make sure Al Qaida meets the same fate there that it
    has met elsewhere in Iraq.
        A key factor in these security gains has been new cooperation from
    the Iraqi people. Ordinary Iraqis have come forward with intelligence
    tips. Citizens who were once hostile to the coalition have switched
    sides and are now joining with us. Over the past year, more than 100,000
    Iraqis have joined their nation's security forces. In other words, there
    was an Iraqi surge to match our own. These Iraqis are fighting and
    sacrificing for their country. They want to live in a free society.
    Iraqi mothers want their children to grow up in peace, just like
    American mothers do.
        The Iraqi forces are growing in capability. Recently, they planned
    and executed a highly effective operation to secure nearly 9 million
    pilgrims celebrating the religious holiday of Arbaeen. And as we speak,
    Iraqi security forces are waging a tough battle against militia fighters
    and criminals in Basra, many of whom have received arms and training and
    funding from Iran.
        Prime Minister Maliki's bold decision--
    and it was a bold decision--to go after the illegal groups in Basra
    shows his leadership and his commitment to enforce the law in an
    evenhanded manner. It also shows the progress the Iraqi security forces
    have made during the surge. Iraqi forces planned this operation, and
    they deployed substantial extra forces for it. They're leading the
    operation. Prime Minister Maliki has traveled to Basra to oversee it
    firsthand.
        This offensive builds on the security gains of the surge and
    demonstrates to the Iraqi people that their Government is committed to
    protecting them. There's a strong commitment by the central Government
    of Iraq to say that no one is above the law.

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    This operation is going to take some time to complete, and the enemy
    will try to fill the TV screens with violence. But the ultimate result
    will be this: Terrorists and extremists in Iraq will know they have no
    place in a free and democratic society.
        The surge is yielding major changes in Iraqi political life, and
    that is important. Before the surge, politics at every level was
    shutting down. I mean, for leaders, security crisis prevented the
    routine conduct of government. You know, for ordinary citizens, politics
    were a distant concern. I mean, after all, they were simply trying to
    keep their families alive. And for all Iraqis, the violence hardened
    sectarian attitudes and made tough political compromises impossible.
        A year later--1 year later--after we sent additional troops into
    Iraq, the situation has changed markedly. With security improving, local
    citizens have restarted the political process in their neighborhoods and
    cities and Provinces. Let me give you an example. In Ramadi, tribal
    sheiks who led the uprising against Al Qaida are now leading a revival
    of politics. With the support of our PRTs, Ramadi now has a fully
    staffed mayor's office, and neighborhood councils have formed. Judges
    are presiding over courts and restoring the rule of law.
        As the news of the success in Anbar has spread, similar grassroots
    movements have sprung up all around the country. Today, some 90,000
    Iraqis belong to local citizens groups bearing the proud name Sons of
    Iraq. Many of these groups are Sunnis; some are Shi'a; some are mixed.
    But whatever their makeup, these groups of citizens are determined to
    protect their communities; they are determined to fight extremism; and
    they increasingly participate in civic life. In other words, people have
    stepped up and said: ``We're sick and tired of our families having to
    live in violence. We can't stand the thought of people who murder the
    innocent to achieve political objectives, and we intend to do something
    about it.'' And they have.
        And the central Government is beginning to respond to these Sons of
    Iraq. And it's not easy. I mean, after all, some of them were former
    regime members or former insurgents. Yet the Iraqi Government has
    pledged to incorporate about 20 to 30 percent of the Sons of Iraq into
    the Iraqi Army and police forces. For the rest, the national Government
    has now committed $196 million to fund jobs programs so that brave
    Iraqis who stand up to the extremists and the murders and the criminals
    can learn the skills they need to help build a free and prosperous
    nation.
        The Sons of Iraq movement is only one element of the bottom-up
    political process. You know, sometimes it requires grassroots politics
    to get the folks in central Government to respond. Sometimes that
    happens in our own country. [Laughter] Well, it's happening in Iraq.
        You know, another sign of bottom-up political progress is the
    rebirth of Iraqi civil society. We take civil society for granted in
    America. But civil society was destroyed during the time of the brutal
    dictator, Saddam Hussein. And yet it's now coming back to life. Civic
    organizations are springing up. Institutions that sustain a free nation
    are strengthening. Our PRT in Karbala, for example, helped local
    residents establish a women's center that will provide education and
    promote equality. In Anbar, they just had a 5k race on what used to be
    the most dangerous streets in Iraq.
        I talked to General Odierno; he's the
    number-two man in Iraq. He just came back after courageously serving our
    country, and he came to the Oval Office. And here's what he told me. He
    said he flew over Baghdad 15 months ago, and he couldn't see a single
    soccer game. On his final flight last month, he counted more than 180.
    Now, that may sound normal to us, and we take it for granted, but it is
    a sign that the surge is working and civil society is beginning to grow.
    It is a sign normalcy is returning back to Iraq.

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        And over time, these developments at the local level have increased
    pressure for action at the national level. Leaders in Baghdad are
    responding. By any reasonable measure, the legislative achievements in
    Baghdad over the past 4 months have been remarkable.
        In December, the Government enacted a pension law that will allow
    tens of thousands of Sunnis to collect the retirement benefits they were
    promised. Part of reconciliation is to reach out to groups who may not
    have trust in central Government, and you build trust by honoring
    commitments.
        In January, leaders enacted a de-Ba'athification law that allows
    mid-level Ba'ath Party members to reenter political and civic life.
    There was a period of time that if you were associated with the Ba'ath
    Party, you couldn't teach in a school, and yet there was a need for
    teachers. And this law will make it easier for civil society to grow and
    helps reconcile the past.
        In February, leaders enacted a budget that increases spending on
    security and capital reconstruction projects and Provincial governments.
    And on the same day, leaders enacted an amnesty law to resolve the
    status of many Iraqis held in Iraqi custody. Last week, leaders reached
    agreement on a Provincial powers law that helps define Iraqi federalism
    and sets the stage for Provincial elections later this year. And that's
    an important piece of legislation because it will give Iraqis who
    boycotted the last Provincial election, such as Sunnis in Anbar or
    Ninawa Provinces, a chance to go to the polls and have a voice in their
    future.
        These pieces of legislation deal with complex issues that are vital
    for the reconciliation of the country and fundamental for a democratic
    society. I mean, we've been arguing about the role of the Federal
    Government relative to the States for a long time here in America. We've
    been trying to get the balance right. There's a constant struggle
    between the proper role of State and local government versus the role of
    the Federal Government. Well, that's what the Iraqis are now struggling
    through.
        You know, they got their budget passed, and sometimes it takes our
    Congress awhile to get its budget passed. [Laughter] Nevertheless, some
    Members of Congress decided the best way to encourage progress in
    Baghdad was to criticize and threaten Iraq's leaders while they're
    trying to work out their differences. But hectoring was not what the
    Iraqi leaders needed. What they needed was security, and that is what
    the surge has provided. When the security situation improved and the
    Iraqi leaders were reassured that America wouldn't leave them, that
    America would support them, they then made tough compromises necessary
    to get key pieces of legislation passed.
        And it is a lesson worth remembering as Iraq's national Government
    goes about the substantial work that remains, including implementing the
    laws it's passed, reviewing its Constitution, drafting a electoral law,
    and passing laws to reform its oil sector and codify revenue sharing.
    It's also worth remembering the enormity of what the Iraqis are trying
    to do. They're striving to build a modern democracy on the rubble of
    three decades of tyranny in a region of the world that has been hostile
    to freedom. And they're doing it while under assault from one of
    history's most brutal terrorist networks.
        When it takes time for Iraqis to reach agreement, it is not foot
    dragging, as one Senator described it during Congress's 2-week Easter
    recess. It is a revolutionary undertaking that requires great courage.
    You know, one Iraqi leader recently acknowledged that he's faced four
    assassination attempts a year since liberation. Yet he proudly serves
    his nation with strong determination because he wants to live in a free
    society. And he understands what I understand: Free societies yield the
    peace we want. And it's in our interests to stand strongly with the
    leaders like that in Iraq

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    and give them all the support necessary to succeed.
        The improvements in security resulting from the surge are also
    enabling Iraqis to make progress on their economy. Iraq has great
    economic potential. They've got a young, energetic population; it's got
    a lot of natural resources. Yet in many ways, the legacy of the tyrant
    continues to haunt the Iraqi economy. The Government is forced to rely
    on the centralized food and fuel rationing system that Saddam used to
    control his population and to punish his enemies. The infrastructure for
    Iraq's oil sector is still owned and managed by the central Government
    and suffers from decades of underinvestment. Iraq's economic problems
    grew worse during the sectarian violence that preceded the surge. Oil
    revenues declined, businesses closed their doors, and infrastructure was
    destroyed.
        A year later, almost every key economic indicator has turned around.
    Since the surge began, business registrations have increased by more
    than 9 percent. Total inflation has fallen by more than 60 percentage
    points. Investment in the energy and telecom industries has increased.
    The agricultural sector is improving. Oil production is up, particularly
    north of Baghdad. The oil fields there have more than doubled
    production, and exports through Turkey have expanded significantly.
        The national Government has announced a plan to reform the food
    rationing system. Economic growth is projected to be a robust 7 percent
    this year. And the confidence of Iraqis is rising. They're beginning to
    see a more hopeful future. More than 75 percent of Iraqi businesses,
    according to a recent survey, expect the economy continue to growing
    over the next 2 years.
        As the economic situation stabilizes, Iraq's Government has stepped
    forward to meet more of its own expenses. This is a mark of pride for
    Iraqis, and it is a point of insistence for us. Early in the war,
    America funded most of the large-scale reconstruction projects in Iraq,
    and we've changed our focus. Now we're focused on encouraging
    entrepreneurship. The Iraqi Government is stepping up on reconstruction
    projects. They have outspent us in the recent budget 11 to 1, and soon
    we expect the Iraqis will cover 100 percent of those expenses.
        The same is true when it comes to security spending. Initially, the
    United States paid for most of the costs of training and equipping the
    Iraqi security forces. Now Iraq's budget covers three-quarters of the
    cost of its security forces, which is a total of more than $9 billion in
    2008. And soon Iraq should, and we expect them to, shoulder the full
    burden of their security forces.
        They have other work to do in their economy. The reforms needed to
    transition from a command-and-control economy to a modern market-based
    system are complex, and it's going to take some time. Centralized
    electricity generation is now above prewar levels, but it is not
    sufficient to meet the needs of Iraq because demand is growing. Other
    key infrastructure needs to be upgraded, especially energy pipelines and
    storage facilities. Unemployment is still too high. Corruption remains a
    challenge. But the good news is, the Iraqis recognize these
    shortcomings. They understand what they have to do. And we're going to
    help them succeed. We're sending experts to help them succeed in their
    goals.
        Listen to the words of Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister: ``Last year was the year of security,'' he said.
    ``This year is the year of reconstruction, it is the year of services,
    and it's the year of combating corruption.'' And we're going to help
    them meet those goals.
        The surge is also helping give Iraq's leaders the confidence to
    expand their international engagement. Iraqi leaders are working hard to
    meet the criterion required to join the WTO, which would help its
    entrepreneurs benefit from the opportunities of a global economy. Iraq
    has taken steps to attract foreign investment, including holding its
    first Business to Business

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    Expo since the Gulf war. The Government is meeting its pledge to reform
    its economy in exchange for development assistance and debt relief
    through the International Compact for Iraq.
        Much of the world is increasing its commitment to Iraq. The United
    Kingdom, Italy, and South Korea are leading PRTs. The United Nations is
    playing an expanded role in Iraq and will help prepare for this year's
    Provincial elections. And next month, the third Expanded Neighbors
    Conference will meet in Kuwait City to discuss ways the region and the
    world can further support Iraq's political, economic, and security
    progress. This is a key diplomatic initiative. It will include all of
    Iraq's neighbors as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security
    Council, the G-8, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic
    Conference.
        Iraq's neighbors can do more, and we're constantly sending out
    diplomatic missions to encourage them to do more. Earlier this week, the
    King of Bahrain came to visit
    me in the Oval Office, and his Government announced that he will send an
    ambassador to Iraq. And I appreciate that and urge other nations in the
    region to follow his lead. It's in their interest that a peaceful Iraq
    evolve. At the same time, the regimes in Iran and Syria must stop
    supporting violence and terror in Iraq.
        Iraq also wants to solidify its relationship with the United States.
    Last year, Iraqi leaders came to us with a request to form a long-term
    strategic partnership. This partnership would help assure Iraqis that
    political and economic and security cooperation between our nations will
    endure. This partnership would also ensure protections for American
    troops when the U.N. mandate for multinational forces in Iraq expires
    this December. Now, this partnership would not bind future Presidents to
    specific troop levels. This partnership would not establish permanent
    bases in Iraq. It would be similar to partnerships that we have with
    Afghanistan and other free nations around the world. My administration
    will work to complete this strategic partnership in the coming months.
    The Iraqi people have chosen to stand with America against our common
    enemies, and it's in our interest that we stand with them.
        Having witnessed all this progress from the surge, the natural
    question is, what are the next steps? Well, this week, I've been
    discussing that question with my national security team in Washington as
    well as with General Petraeus and
    Ambassador Crocker in Baghdad. They will
    discuss that question with Members of Congress when they come and
    testify in April. They'll outline the achievements of the surge as well
    as the challenges that remain, including the continued presence of Al
    Qaida, the violence caused by Shi'a extremists, the destructive
    influence of Iran, the flow of suicide bombers through Syria, the
    activities of PKK terrorists.
        I'm going to carefully consider the recommendations of Secretary
    Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and
    those on the ground, General Petraeus and
    Ambassador Crocker. And I'll announce my
    decisions soon after I have fully met with them and heard their
    recommendations. And as I consider the way forward, I will always
    remember that the progress in Iraq is real, it's substantive, but it is
    reversible. And so the principle behind my decision on our troop levels
    will be ensuring that we succeed in Iraq.
        As this debate unfolds, I ask people on both sides to keep an open
    mind and to take a close look at the situation on the ground. Here is
    what one scholar and critic of the war
    recently said: ``No one can spend some 10 days visiting the battlefields
    in Iraq without seeing major progress in every area. If the United
    States provides sustained support to the Iraqi Government--in security,
    governance, and development--there is now a very real chance that Iraq
    will emerge as a secure and stable state.''
        Some, however, seem unwilling to acknowledge that progress is taking
    place.

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    Earlier in the war, they said the political situation wasn't good
    enough. Then after Iraq held three historic elections, they said the
    security situation wasn't good enough. Then after the security situation
    began to improve, they said politics, again, wasn't good enough. And now
    that political progress is picking up, they're looking for a new reason.
        But there's one thing that is consistent. No matter what
    shortcomings these critics diagnose, their prescription is always the
    same: retreat. They claim that our strategic interest is elsewhere, and
    that if we would just get out of Iraq, we could focus on the battles
    that really matter. This argument makes no sense. If America's strategic
    interests are not in Iraq--the convergence point for the twin threats of
    Al Qaida and Iran, the nation Usama bin Laden's deputy has called ``the
    place for the greatest battle,'' the country at the heart of the most
    volatile region on Earth--then where are they?
        The reality is that retreating from Iraq would carry enormous
    strategic costs for the United States. It would incite chaos and
    killing, destroy the political gains the Iraqis have made, and abandon
    our friends to terrorists and death squads. It would endanger Iraq's oil
    resources and could serve as a severe disruption to the world's economy.
    It would increase the likelihood that Al Qaida would gain safe havens
    that they could use to attack us here at home. It would be a propaganda
    victory of colossal proportions for the global terrorist movement, which
    would gain new funds and find new recruits and conclude that the way to
    defeat America is to bleed us into submission. It would signal to Iran
    that we were not serious about confronting its efforts to impose its
    will on the region. It would signal to people across the Middle East
    that the United States cannot be trusted to keep its word. A defeat in
    Iraq would have consequences far beyond that country, and they would be
    felt by Americans here at home.
        For the same reason, helping the Iraqis defeat their enemies and
    build a free society would be a strategic victory that would resound far
    beyond Iraq's borders. If Al Qaida is defeated in Iraq after all the
    resources it has poured into the battle there, it will be a powerful
    blow against the global terrorist movement. If Iran is turned back in
    its attempt to gain undue influence over Iraq, it will be a setback to
    the--its ambitions to dominate the region. If people across the Middle
    East see freedom prevail in multiethnic, multisectarian Iraq, it will
    mark a decisive break from the long reign of tyranny in that region. And
    if the Middle East grows in freedom and prosperity, the appeal of
    extremism will decline, the prospects of peace will advance, and the
    American people will be safer here at home. The surge has opened the
    door to this strategic victory. Now we must seize the opportunity and
    sustain the initiative and do what it takes to prevail.
        Realizing this vision is not going to be easy. Yet we should never
    let the difficulty of the fight obscure the justice of the cause. We
    should never let the difficulty of the moment cause us to shirk our duty
    to lay the foundation of peace for generations of Americans to come.
        You know, when I mentioned justice of the cause, you see that when
    Americans in full battle gear hand out books to children, hand out books
    to total strangers. You see it when they defuse bombs to protect the
    innocent or help organize a town council meeting. And when you see that,
    there could be no doubt that America is a force for good and decency.
        Four thousand of our finest citizens have sacrificed their lives in
    this mission. Every one of them was loved; every one is missed. And we
    thank God for the gifts of these brave Americans, and we ask Him to
    comfort their families. Every one of them will be honored throughout our
    history. But the best way to honor the fallen is to complete the mission
    and lay the foundation of peace.

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        All those who serve on the frontlines of this struggle, this
    ideological struggle, this confrontation against those who murder
    innocent men, women, and children to achieve their political objectives,
    are patriots who are upholding the highest ideals of our country. Many
    of them are air men and women. They're adding to the tradition of the
    great aviators honored by this museum and of others known to us as
    family, friends, neighbors, or, in my case, dad. The work that today's
    generation is doing is every bit as challenging, every bit as noble, and
    every bit as vital to our security as any that came before. When the
    history of this era is written, it will show that the Air Force and all
    of Americans' Armed Forces performed with unfailing skill and courage.
    It will show that the United States of America prevailed, and freedom
    advanced, and so did peace.
        May God bless you, and may God bless our country.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:21 a.m. at Wright-Patterson Air Force
    Base. In his remarks, he referred to Maj. Gen. Charles D. Metcalf, USAF
    (Ret.), director, National Museum of the United States Air Force; Mayor
    Rhine McLin of Dayton, OH; Col. Colleen M. Ryan, USAF, commander, 88th
    Air Base Wing, and installation commander, Wright-Patterson Air Force
    Base; Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National
    Force--Iraq; Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Deputy Prime Minister
    Barham Salih of Iraq; Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, USA, commanding
    general, Multi-National Corps--Iraq; King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of
    Bahrain; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization;
    and Ayman Al-Zawahiri, founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and senior
    Al Qaida associate. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a
    Spanish language transcript of these remarks.