[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 25 (Monday, June 27, 2005)]
[Pages 1063-1069]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari of 
Iraq

June 24, 2005

    President Bush. Thank you very much. Mr. Prime Minister, I am 
honored to welcome you to the White House. As the leader of Iraq's first 
democratically elected Government in more than 50 years, you are helping 
to lift your country from decades of fear and oppression.
    The Prime Minister is a great Iraqi patriot. He's a friend of 
liberty. He's a strong partner for peace and freedom. For more than two 
decades, he served the cause of Iraqi freedom in exile as a fierce 
opponent of Saddam Hussein's tyranny. Today, this medical doctor now 
serves his people as he works to build a new Iraq.
    I told the Prime Minister that the American people share his 
democratic vision for Iraq. I told him of our Nation's deep and abiding 
respect for Islam, for the people of Iraq, and for the potential of the 
nation that now belongs to them.
    Today we meet at a critical moment in the history of this proud 
nation. In just a few days, we will mark the first anniversary of the 
return of Iraq to its people. In the year since then, the Iraqis can 
take credit from [for] * some extraordinary achievements in the face of 
tremendous challenge.
    * White House correction.
    Seven months after resuming sovereignty over their nation, the Iraqi 
people defied the car bombers and assassins to hold their first free 
elections in a half century. In April, the newly elected Transitional 
National Assembly formed a Government and appointed Dr. Jafari as the 
Prime Minister. This month, after a spirited debate, the Iraqis reached 
an agreement to expand their constitutional drafting committee to 
include more Sunni Arabs, so that this important community also has a 
strong voice in shaping the future of their country.
    The Prime Minister and I discussed the important work the Iraqis 
have before them in the months ahead. This work includes drafting a 
permanent constitution for a free Iraq, submitting it to the Iraqi 
people for approval, and then holding new elections to choose a 
constitutional Government. These are monumental tasks, yet at every step 
of the way so far, the Iraqi people have met their strategic objectives, 
and the terrorists have failed to stop them. I commend the Prime 
Minister and his fellow Iraqis for their hard work and courage. And I'm 
confident that the Iraqi people will continue to defy the skeptics as 
they assume greater responsibility for their security and build a new 
Iraq that represents their diversity.
    The way ahead is not going to be easy. The killings and roadside 
bombings that we

[[Page 1064]]

see underscore that freedom in Iraq is opposed by a violent and ruthless 
enemy with no regard for human life. The enemy includes former members 
of Saddam Hussein's regime. The enemy includes criminal elements, and 
the enemy includes foreign terrorists. The terrorists are fighting in 
Iraq because they know a free Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will 
deal a severe blow to an ideology that lives on oppression and fear. By 
securing Iraqi democracy, we will make America and our friends and 
allies around the world safer.
    The enemy's goal is to drive us out of Iraq before the Iraqis have 
established a secure, democratic Government. They will not succeed. Our 
goal is clear, a democratic and peaceful Iraq that represents all 
Iraqis. Our troops will continue to train Iraqi security forces so these 
forces can defend their country and to protect their people from terror. 
And as Iraqis become more capable in defending their nation, our troops 
will eventually return home with the honor they have earned.
    As the Iraqi people stand up for their freedom, they know that the 
free world is now standing with them. Earlier this week, more than 80 
countries and international organizations came together in Brussels to 
discuss how to help Iraq provide for its security and rebuild its 
country. And next month, donor countries will meet in Jordan to discuss 
Iraqi reconstruction.
    I appreciate Prime Minister Jafari's brave leadership. Prime 
Minister Jafari is a bold man. I've enjoyed my discussions with you, 
Prime Minister. He is a frank, open fellow who is willing to tell me 
what's on his mind. And what is on his mind is peace and security for 
the people of Iraq, and what is on his mind is a democratic future that 
is hopeful.
    I want to thank you for your courage. I want to thank you for your 
understanding about the nature of free societies. I want to thank you 
for helping Iraq become a beacon of freedom.
    Prime Minister Jafari's visit comes at an important time. I want to 
thank you for coming.
    Prime Minister al-Jafari. Thank you very much.
    President Bush. Welcome.
    Prime Minister al-Jafari. Thank you very much. I want to thank the 
United States people for their courage and commitment against terrorism 
and for democracy in our country.
    I visited hospital in the past month in Turkey, Muthanna, and 
yesterday in Washington, DC. There were Iraqis and American. They had 
suffered side by side, and they were on a common enemy: terrorism. They 
were fighting for the security of Iraq but also of American. This is not 
the time to fall back--to fall back. We owe it to those who have made 
sacrifices to continue toward the goals they fought.
    I see from up close what's happening in Iraq, and I know we are 
making steady and substantial progress. People said Saddam would not 
fall, and he did. They say the election would not happen, and they did. 
They say the constitution will not be written, but it will. And the 
political process--[Inaudible]--including the Sunni Arabs, will further 
undermine the terrorists. They have joined the parliamentary committee 
and the Government, and they will take part in the next elections.

[At this point, Prime Minister al-Jafari spoke in Arabic, and his 
remarks were translated by an interpreter.]

    Another time I would like to thank and commend Mr. President for his 
hospitality and his receiving me here and for the subjects we discussed 
together. And also he was frank and transparent, and he gave me very 
good feelings towards the people in Iraq. I would also like to thank the 
American people for standing beside the Iraqi people, going through 
these difficult times. No doubt our people will never forget those who 
stand beside Iraq, particularly at these terrible times. We do 
appreciate the assistance given by America during the present period of 
time in particular. There is a great achievement in Iraq, there is 
democracy in Iraq, and the people in Iraq defied terrorism, and they 
refused to accept any constitutional association.
    There is about 30 percent of women participating, and this is an 
example of democracy in Iraq and in the region, even in the whole world. 
There are six minister ladies in my Government, and it is my intention

[[Page 1065]]

to add one more woman to be Deputy to the Prime Minister.
    In the new Iraq, there is progress on more than one aspect, even 
though, again, it's all the challenges we have, particularly in 
security. Even though there is a lot of infiltration from the countries 
adjacent to Iraq, moving from inside Iraq itself, but there is a will in 
Iraq to secure security. And so the bombing in Iraq has been reduced a 
lot. And we are making great progress. And we depend on our security 
forces, multinational forces also who work with us, support us, but the 
responsibility in the frontline is for the Iraqis, and everything is 
making progress quantitatively and qualitatively.
    We want to secure love instead of hatred in our country, coexistence 
and cooperation in Iraq instead of cursing each other. The whole people 
of Iraq would like to continue the democracy in Iraq, and they will 
fight for achieving it. So many people said that democracy will never 
stand in Iraq, said that elections will never be held in Iraq, and they 
said also that the Government will never be established in Iraq, and 
they said there would be no constitution. But everything will be there, 
and the whole world will see that changes in Iraq happen because of the 
great will of the people of Iraq and the countries that are assisting 
us.
    We want fraternal relations with all the countries of the world and 
the adjacent countries, keeping our sovereignty against all infiltration 
from the borders of Iraq. We want goodness for all countries of the 
world and wish you all the best for the American people.
    Thank you, very much. Thank you, very much.
    President Bush. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. What we'll do now is 
we'll ask a question--answer a question from the American side and then 
one from the Iraqi side. Thank you, we'll be there in a minute. And 
then--we'll have two a side, in other words.
    I will start with Kelly O'Donnell [NBC News].

Status of Efforts in Iraq

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. On Iraq, sir, the Vice President has 
described the conditions there, regarding the insurgency as being in its 
last throes. General Abizaid said there has been no significant change 
over the last 6 months. Your spokesman said you agreed with the Vice 
President's assessment. Can you help the American people understand 
these two different views that are coming forward, one from the 
administration, one from top commanders, when your spokesman tells us 
every day you get your information directly from those top commanders?
    President Bush. I do get briefed by our top commanders, as does the 
Vice President. As a matter of fact, about 2 hours ago, General Abizaid 
briefed the Vice President and myself and the Secretary of Defense about 
what is taking place on the ground. And there's no question there's an 
enemy that still wants to shake our will and get us to leave. And 
they're willing to use any means necessary. They try to kill--and they 
do kill innocent Iraqi people, women and children, because they know 
that they're--the carnage that they wreak will be on TV. And they know 
that they are--they know that it bothers people to see death--and it 
does. It bothers me. It bothers American citizens. It bothers Iraqis. 
They're trying to shake our will. That's what they're trying to do, and 
so of course we understand the nature of that enemy.
    We also understand that there is reason to be optimistic about 
what's taking place. The very same commanders that say that these folks 
are terrible killers are also reminding us that we're making good 
progress. On the one hand, you just heard the Prime Minister talk about 
a new democracy. Remember, the killers tried to intimidate everybody so 
that they wouldn't vote. That was their tactic. If you look back at the 
history of our involvement in Iraq, there was a lot of bombings and 
killings prior to the elections. What they were trying to do is say, 
``Let's shake the will of not only the Americans but the Iraqi 
citizens.'' And--but nevertheless, the Iraqi citizens wouldn't have 
their will shaken.
    So we're optimistic. We're optimistic that more and more Iraqi 
troops are becoming better trained to fight the terrorists. We're 
optimistic about the constitutional process. There is a political track 
that's moving forward in parallel with the security track. No question 
about--it's difficult. I mean, we

[[Page 1066]]

hear it every day, of course. So do you. You report it every day. It's 
tough work, and it's hard. The hardest part of my job is to comfort the 
family members who have lost a loved one, which I intend to do when I go 
down to North Carolina on Tuesday.
    But nevertheless, progress is being made, and the defeat of the 
enemy--and they will be defeated--will be accelerated by the progress on 
the ground in Iraq that--the establishment of a democratic state that 
listens to the hopes and aspirations of all the people in Iraq will lead 
to the defeat of this enemy. And so that's what this administration 
believes, and we firmly believe it is going to happen.
    Would you like to call on somebody from the Iraq press?
    Prime Minister al-Jafari. Yes, yes.
    President Bush. Who would you like to call on? Better pick one.

Timetables for Iraq/Visit of Secretary of State Rice

    Q. [Inaudible]--my first question is, Mr. Bush, we heard here that 
there are Members of the Congress and the Senate, they are asking for a 
schedule for withdrawing your troops from Iraq. Have you discussed this 
with the Government of Iraq or will it be left to the Government to 
decide?
    Mr. Jafari, it was said in the streets of Iraq that the 
administration of America is pressurizing your Government through the 
visit of Ms. Rice in Iraq. Is there a reaction to that with President 
Bush?
    President Bush. Thank you. You've picked up a good American trick, 
which is to ask two questions. [Laughter] Congratulations.
    There're not going to be any timetables. I mean, I've told this to 
the Prime Minister. We are there to complete a mission, and it's an 
important mission. A democratic Iraq is in the interest of the United 
States of America, and it's in the interest of laying the foundation for 
peace. And if that's the mission, then why would you--why would you say 
to the enemy, you know, ``Here's a timetable. Just go ahead and wait us 
out.'' It doesn't make any sense to have a timetable. You know, if you 
give a timetable, you're conceding too much to the enemy.
    This is an enemy that will be defeated. And it's--so I'm not exactly 
sure who made that proposition, but I would--you don't have to worry, 
Mr. Prime Minister, about timetables. And we want to work with you to 
continue to build up the Iraqi forces. See, success will happen in Iraq 
when the political process moves forward, like it is. Again, I remind 
you all, maybe 4 months ago--anyway, the beginning of the winter, there 
was a lot of people here in the country that never thought the elections 
would go forward. They thought the enemy had the upper hand because of 
the death and destruction that we saw on our TV screens. They said, 
``Well, can't possibly be elections. The Iraqi people don't want to be 
free,'' and you know, ``These killers are going to stop the elections.'' 
And sure enough, over 8 million people voted because they do want to be 
free.
    And so success will occur as this political process continues to 
move forward. And we spent time talking about making sure that Sunnis 
were a part of the process, and I appreciate the Prime Minister's 
attitude. We made sure we talked about making sure that people's points 
of view are represented, making sure that we stay on--the only timetable 
that I think is going to--that I know is out there is the timetable that 
says, ``Let's have the constitution written by a certain date, and let's 
have it ratified by a certain date, and let's have the election by a 
certain date.'' That's the timetable, and we're going to stay on that 
timetable. And it's important for the Iraqi people to know we are.
    And the second track is to have Iraqis take the fight to the enemy. 
And we're, slowly but surely, getting this training completed. And so we 
spent time today not only hearing about the conditions on the ground and 
the nature of the enemy from Generals Abizaid and General Casey, but we 
also talked about progress in the training mission. And we are making 
good progress when it comes to training Iraqis. One of the interesting 
statistics as to whether or not the Iraqis want to join the fight is 
whether or not they're able to recruit Iraqis to join the army, and 
recruitment is high. In other words, Iraqis do want to be a part of the 
process.
    And so part of the coalition's job is to give these Iraqi units the 
training necessary to be

[[Page 1067]]

able to fight the terrorists. That's our strategy, and it is working, 
and it is going to work, for the good of the country.
    Now, he asked you a question, and it's a very intelligent----
    Prime Minister al-Jafari. As for the second question on the visit of 
Ms. Rice, Condoleezza Rice to Iraq, the general impression of that visit 
was a general review for the situation there. It was a time for us so 
that--that gave support at Bruxelles, and I think they played a great 
role that the greater opportunity for the Iraqis as a big party. And as 
for the program and the ministers who attended, they all spoke in the 
interests of Iraq, and we thanked her very much for the efforts she 
made. And I spoke about the preparation for her and what she can present 
us of services to Iraq. And I believe she played a great role and will 
play a great role in Bruxelles, and I hope the recommendations will 
reflect on the donor countries so that we get the interest to the Iraqi 
people, particularly for the services. Thank you.

Status of President's Second Term/U.S. Popular Support for Efforts in 
Iraq

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Declining public support for the 
mission in Iraq and the lack of progress on some of your domestic 
priorities has prompted suggestions that you're in something of a 
second-term slump. Do you worry----
    President Bush. A quagmire, perhaps. [Laughter]
    Q. You can choose the word, sir. Do you worry at all about losing 
some of your ability to drive the agenda, both internationally and 
domestically?
    And Mr. Prime Minister, if I may, does the decline in American 
support for the mission in Iraq have any impact on your Government and 
the people of your country?
    President Bush. No, I appreciate the polls, the question about the 
polls. Look, this is a time of testing, and it's a critical time. We're 
asking Congress to do--to take on some big tasks domestically. I fully 
understood when I went into the Social Security debate that there would 
be a lot of people that wished we hadn't have brought it up. I knew 
that. After all, there are some who, in Congress, that would rather not 
take on the tough issue, make--they're afraid if you take on a tough 
issue, it will make it harder to get reelected.
    And so I'm not surprised that there is a, kind of a reaction, the 
do-nothing reaction in Congress toward Social Security, and I'm not 
surprised the American people are saying, ``I wonder why nothing is 
getting done.'' You know, they see a problem, and they're wondering why 
people won't step up and solve the problem. So I'm not surprised about--
that there's a--people are balking at doing big things. I do think we'll 
get an energy bill that will be good and show the American people 
finally we're willing to put an energy strategy in law that will help us 
conserve more and diversify away from hydrocarbons and develop 
technologies that will enable us to burn coal cleanly, for example.
    Overseas, the idea of helping a country that had been devastated by 
a tyrant become a democracy is also a difficult chore, and it's hard 
work, particularly since there's an enemy that is willing to use suicide 
bombers to kill. It's hard to stop suicide bombers, and it's hard to 
stop these people that, in many cases, are being smuggled into Iraq from 
outside Iraq. It's hard to stop them. And yet they're able to do 
incredible damage. They're damaging not only--you know, they're 
obviously killing Americans, but they're killing a lot more Iraqis. And 
their whole attempt is to frighten the people of both our countries. 
That's what they're trying to do.
    In other words, they figure if they can shake our will and affect 
public opinion, then politicians will give up on the mission. I'm not 
giving up on the mission. We're doing the right thing, which is to set 
the foundation for peace and freedom. And I understand why the Al Qaida 
network, for example, is so terrified about democracy, because democracy 
is the opposite of what they believe. Their ideology is one of 
oppression and hate. Democracy is one that lifts up people and is based 
upon hope.
    I think I said at this press conference here in the East Room, you 
know, ``It's like--following polls is like a dog chasing his tail.'' I'm 
not sure how that translates. But my job is to set an agenda and to lead 
toward that

[[Page 1068]]

agenda. And we're laying the foundation for peace around the world.
    Iraq is a part of the agenda. There's going to be--there were 
elections in Lebanon. We hope Egypt has free and open elections. My 
dream is that there be a Palestinian state living side by side in peace 
with Iraq. I noticed our former Ambassador to Afghanistan is with us, 
who is now going to be the ambassador to Iraq. Afghanistan is a hopeful 
story. It's still difficult because, again, there are terrorists there 
associated with this--the likes of--or are a part of the Al Qaida 
network that is interested in stopping the advance of democracy because 
democracy is--will be a part of their defeat and demise.
    Prime Minister al-Jafari. Thank you very much. As for the question 
on the reduction of support, Iraq's--the Iraqi people had a specific 
request which is toppling down Saddam Hussein for reasons relating to 
their dignity and their policy--their politics. And after Saddam Hussein 
was removed, through the different efforts of international efforts and 
Iraqis, this was achieved. Right now we have another danger, which is 
terrorism, which is against not only the Iraqi people but all the world 
of the country--of the world, and at any time, doesn't have any 
particular land, but it works everywhere. Geography of terrorism is the 
human beings, themselves. And those people who are doing it are the 
enemies of humanity.
    Once they do it in Washington, once in Spain, once in Iraq. So 
fighting the terrorism and limiting their impact and in order to keep 
the human dignity and civilization requires that we all act together. 
It's not only the duty of Iraqi people but other countries as well. As 
you know, Iraq is rich in oil, in water, in cultivation, as strategy 
and--[inaudible]--and also--but because of the exception of 
circumstances of Iraq, now it has become a poor country, so we have to 
have the impact and the support from other countries.
    The success of our Iraqi people is your own success. The people of 
Iraq is civilized. I look forward to support from all other countries of 
the world. You have given us something more than money. You have given 
us a lot of your sons, your children that were killed beside our own 
children in Iraq. Of course this is more precious than any other kind of 
support we receive. You have to be proud before your own people that you 
presented us for the maintenance of democracy in Iraq and to remove the 
dictatorship. We do not forget those who stood beside us at hard times, 
and they are decided to go forward. And there is a lot of difference 
between one month and another, between one week and another. Iraqi 
people are insistent on going along the path for their economy and their 
security, but we do need the help of other countries who will help us, 
to stand beside us.
    Thank you.
    President Bush. Final question, Mr. Prime Minister. Would you----

Reconstruction in Iraq

[The reporter spoke in Arabic, and the question was translated by an 
interpreter.]

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister, I am a presenter on radio in Iraq. My 
question is for you. For more than 2 years, we've started a change in 
Iraq, but the process of building is very slow. There are secure cities 
in Iraq, Samarra and Kurdistan. When will you begin the reconstruction 
in Iraq? When do we begin to establish the first bases of 
reconstruction? And you know that if you started reconstruction in Iraq, 
it will mean that young people will have something to do, and they will 
leave terrorist activities. So the question is for Mr. Prime Minister. 
There were discussions held with President Bush, and the most important 
thing you discussed with him, we want to know about it. Thank you very 
much.
    President Bush. Sometimes we don't tell you things, you know. 
[Laughter] No, we discussed a lot of important things. We discussed 
democracy. We discussed having the constitution there, and we discussed 
security. We discussed reconstruction.
    We are spending reconstruction money, but you know, you need to ask 
that to the Government. They're in charge. It's your Government, not 
ours. This is the Government that is--that has got the ministries in 
place that spends the money. We're willing to help, and we have helped. 
And I want to thank the Congress and the American people for their 
generosity in helping Iraq rebuild, and we're spending money.

[[Page 1069]]

    But remember, your question kind of made it seem like--that we're in 
charge. We're not. You had elections; 8\1/2\ million people voted; and 
this good man is now in charge of the Government. I don't want to be 
passing the buck, as we say, but we're more than willing to help 
reconstruction efforts, but this is a sovereign Government----
    Prime Minister al-Jafari. Thank you, very much.
    President Bush. ----with an elected Prime Minister, by the people of 
Iraq. And so we want to look forward to working with the Government. Our 
role is to help. His role is to govern and lead. And we've got the money 
allocated. Obviously, it's important to get electricity to the Iraqi 
citizens and clean water to the Iraqi citizens. And you know, I was 
pleased to see the other day when I was reading that there's a lot of 
air traffic in and out of the airport now, quite a lot of air traffic. 
In other words, there's commerce beginning to develop. We want to be 
helpful. But the responsibility rests with the people who the Iraqi 
people elected. And that's you, Mr. Prime Minister.
    Prime Minister al-Jafari. Thank you, Mr. President. Of course, there 
were many points discussed with the President, Mr. Bush, in our special 
meeting, and we talked about so many facts. It was the first meeting 
between us, so we talked directly about the democracy in Iraq and the 
constitution, the achievement of the constitution, and we decided to 
continue the case of security until everything is well established.
    And at the same time, we thought that there is a Marshall project 
after the Second World War that contributed--the U.S. contributed in 
that and in Truman's Government when they presented assistance to the 
German people. German people had selected Hitler in a democratic process 
that had a 98 percent result, however, we are quite happy with this 
hospitality of the U.S. So Germany was able to work.
    The Iraqi people did not elect Saddam Hussein. In fact, they 
suffered a lot from Saddam Hussein before he attacked the geographical 
adjacent countries. He took their money before he took the money of 
Kuwait. He occupied Kuwait, in fact, as he did, and there is a lot of 
indications to tell us that the Iraqi people are innocent of all that 
had happened. They have to pay off their--so many debts, and we hope 
that all countries will stand beside us to correct this unexceptional 
[exceptional] * situation. They did not commit any crime against any 
people. They are peaceful. But it was Saddam Hussein who committed the 
crimes, and he brought about so many debts and losses to the Iraqi 
people.
    * White House correction.
    We look forward to the international community to stand beside us, 
and we believe that this is a humanitarian stance. And we hope that Mr. 
Bush will try to redo a Marshall plan, calling it the Bush plan, to help 
Iraq, to help the Iraqi people. And this would be a very wonderful step 
that they stand beside us.
    President Bush. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Thank you all. Thank 
you.

Note: The President's news conference began at 11:31 a.m. in the East 
Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to former President 
Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Gen. John P. Abizaid, USA, combatant commander, 
U.S. Central Command; Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding 
general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay 
Khalilzad.