[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[June 25, 2008]
[Pages 867-868]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Meeting With President Jalal Talabani of Iraq
June 25, 2008

    President Bush. It's been my honor to welcome a friend, President 
Talabani, back to the Oval Office. He is the President of a free Iraq. 
He is a man who's been on the frontlines of helping to unify Iraq and to 
help Iraq recover from a brutal regime, that of Saddam Hussein.
    I complimented the President on the progress that the Government has 
made. I complimented the President on the fact that as security has 
improved, he and his fellow officials are reaching out to all aspects of 
society to help people realize the blessings of a free life.
    There's still a lot of work to be done; we recognize that. We talked 
of a variety of subjects. We talked about a strategic framework 
agreement that suits the Iraqi Government. We talked about elections and 
different laws that have been passed. I did compliment the President on 
working hard to see to it that the legislative session this year has 
been very successful. We talked about the fact that the economy's 
improving and that the attitude of the people there has improved 
immeasurably over the years.

[[Page 868]]

    And so I welcome you here. I'm proud of what you've done, and I 
thank you for the tough decisions, so that the people of a free Iraq can 
realize hopes and dreams. Welcome.
    President Talabani. Well, I am proud to have the honor of meeting 
President George Bush, whom we consider the liberator of Iraq from the 
worst kind of dictatorship, as a great friend of Iraqi people. I am 
grateful for what he said about me. But I agree with him that we are 
going to work together for having this agreement--security agreement 
between United States and Iraq and also to continue our cooperation in 
our struggle against terrorism, for promotion of democracy in Iraq and 
Middle East.
    We are proud to have such a good friends here in this great country. 
And I think we can--I can say that we can pass, this year, two important 
laws, oil and election. And we are now going to reunite our Government 
by bringing Tawafuq also to the--I mean, Sunni representatives--to the 
Iraqi national unity Government headed by our Prime Minister, Nuri 
Maliki.
    I also briefed our good friend about the achievements which Iraq had 
done in struggle against terrorism and, again, militias, who were making 
troubles for Iraq and threatening civil war. Now I can say that Iraq--
big part of Iraq is stable and is secured and liberated from the danger 
of terrorism and militia.
    Yes, some places still--there are some groups that remain here and 
there, but I think big achievement we have done this year with the 
support of the United States Army and Government and with the friendly 
advices from President Bush. I can say that we are proud to achieved 
good successes in Iraq. And our economy is growing.
    We have also--big steps forward for national reconciliation. We 
improved our relation with our neighbors, with Turkey, with Egypt, with 
Jordan, with Kuwait. We normalized our relation with Iran and with Syria 
also. So Iraqi Government is now going to play its role in the Arab 
world as one--a founder of the Arab League. And there is no--I think, no 
more--any kind of isolation of our Government.
    We are doing our best for this agreement. That this agreement with 
the United States of America--I think we have--we had very good, 
important steps towards reaching to finalize this agreement. And we 
continue our struggle to--our efforts to reach--inshallah--very soon 
this agreement.
    And again to thank--here I am again here to thank here our great 
friends, President Bush and American great people, for their sacrifice 
and their support for Iraqi people. Thank you very much.
    President Bush. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:43 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House.