[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 26 (Monday, June 30, 2003)]
[Pages 799-800]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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The President's Radio Address

June 21, 2003

    Good morning. Ten weeks have passed since the fall of the Iraqi 
regime. Since that time, our work in Iraq has focused on two goals. 
First, we are working to make Iraq secure for its citizens and our 
military. Second, we are working to improve the lives of the Iraqi 
people after three decades of tyranny and oppression.
    Making Iraq secure is vitally important for both Iraqi citizens and 
our own forces. The men and women of our military face a continuing risk 
of danger and sacrifice in Iraq. Dangerous pockets of the old regime 
remain loyal to it, and they, along with their terrorist allies, are 
behind deadly attacks designed to kill and intimidate coalition forces 
and innocent Iraqis.
    Our military is acting decisively against these threats. In 
Operation Peninsula Strike and Operation Desert Scorpion, our forces 
have targeted Ba'ath party loyalists and terrorist organizations. In 
Baghdad, more than 28,000 American combat forces and military police are 
enforcing the law and arresting criminals. We are also training Iraqis 
to begin policing their own cities.
    As we establish order and justice in Iraq, we also continue to 
pursue Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. Military and 
intelligence officials are interviewing scientists with knowledge of 
Saddam Hussein's weapons programs and are poring over hundreds of 
thousands of documents.
    For more than a decade, Saddam Hussein went to great lengths to hide 
his weapons from the world. And in the regime's final days, documents 
and suspected weapons sites were looted and burned. Yet all who know the 
dictator's history agree that he possessed chemical and biological 
weapons and that he used chemical weapons in the past. The intelligence 
services of many nations concluded that he had illegal weapons, and the 
regime refused to provide evidence they had been destroyed. We are 
determined to discover the true extent of Saddam Hussein's weapons 
programs, no matter how long it takes.
    To date, the United States has provided Iraq with more than $700 
million in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. This month, the 
World Food Program is distributing food rations to about 25 million 
Iraqis. America and our partners are also repairing water treatment 
plants to provide more clean water. Each week, through our efforts, more 
electricity is made available to more people throughout the country. And 
after years of neglect, Iraq's 4.2 million children under the age of 5 
are receiving vaccinations against diseases such as polio, measles, and 
tuberculosis.
    Iraq's long-term success also depends on economic development. Our 
administrator in Iraq has announced a $100 million fund to pay Iraqis to 
repair buildings and utilities. Billions of dollars taken from Iraqis by 
a corrupt regime have been recovered and will be spent on reconstruction 
projects. Iraq is already in the process of selling oil on world 
markets, which will bring in much-needed revenue to help the Iraqi 
people. This week, the port at Umm Qasar opened to commercial traffic, 
and Baghdad International Airport is expected to reopen next month.
    For the first time in over a decade, Iraq will soon be open to the 
world. And the influence of progress in Iraq will be felt throughout the 
Middle East. Over time, a free Government in Iraq will demonstrate that 
liberty can flourish in that region.
    American servicemembers continue to risk their lives to ensure the 
liberation of Iraq. I'm grateful for their service, and so are the Iraqi 
people. Many Iraqis are experiencing the joys and responsibilities of 
freedom for the first time in their lives. And they are unafraid. As one 
Iraqi man said, ``We are ready to rebuild our country.'' For the people 
of free Iraq, the road ahead holds great challenges. Yet at every turn, 
they will have

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friendship and support from the United States of America.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 10 a.m. on June 20 in the Cabinet Room 
at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 21. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 20 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his 
remarks, the President referred to former President Saddam Hussein of 
Iraq; and L. Paul Bremer III, Presidential Envoy to Iraq. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.