[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 41 (Monday, October 17, 2005)]
[Pages 1533-1536]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Teleconference Remarks With United States Troops in Iraq

October 13, 2005

    The President. Captain Kennedy?
    Capt. Brent Kennedy. Yes, Mr. President.
    The President. Well, it's good to see you. Thanks. Thanks for taking 
time out of your busy schedule to allow me to visit with you a little 
bit. I've got some questions for you here in a minute, but I do want to 
share some thoughts with you.
    First, I want to thank the members of the 42d Infantry Division and 
Task Force Liberty for serving our country with such distinction and 
honor. I want you to know that the mission you are on is vital to 
achieving peace and to protecting America. One of my most solemn duties, 
a duty that you have joined me on, is to protect the American people.
    And we're facing an enemy that is ruthless and coldblooded, an enemy 
that actually has a philosophy, and the philosophy is so opposite of 
ours. It is the exact opposite of what America stands for. We stand for 
religious freedom and freedom to speak and women's rights and capacity 
for people to realize their dreams. They stand for a vision that is--
doesn't believe in freedom, that if you don't agree with their narrow 
point of view, that you're subject to reprisal.
    And so I want to thank you for being a part of this global war. And 
Iraq is a part of the war, because the enemy understands that a free 
Iraq will be a blow to their vision and their strategy of spreading 
dominance throughout the broader Middle East. And so I want to thank 
you. When you e-mail your families, you tell them how proud the 
Commander in Chief is of their patience and their support as well.
    One of the tactics of the enemy is to shake our will. Part of their 
strategy is to use the killing of innocent people to get the American 
Government to pull you out of there before the mission is complete. I'm 
going to assure you of this, that so long as I'm the President, we're 
never going to back down; we're never going to give in; we'll never 
accept anything less than total victory. It's important for you to know 
that. It's important for the enemy to know that as well.
    We've got a strategy, and it's a clear strategy. On the one hand, we 
will hunt down these killers and terrorists and bring them to justice 
and train the Iraqi forces to join us in that effort. The second part of 
the strategy is a political strategy, based upon the knowledge that you 
defeat a backward, dark philosophy with one that's hopeful. And that 
hopeful philosophy is one based upon universal freedom. I'm very 
impressed that the Iraqi Government has continued to work to have a 
constitution that attracts Sunnis and Shi'as and Kurds. They've worked 
hard to get a constitution, and now the people of Iraq are going to get 
to vote once again, on a constitution, in this case.
    And I want to thank you for providing the security necessary for 
people to exercise their free will. You're part of an historic mission 
that is laying the foundation for peace. I am convinced that when we 
look back at this time in history, those who follow us, whether it be in 
the armed services or in the political process, will say, ``Thank 
goodness the United States of America didn't lose our

[[Page 1534]]

nerve or will, that we've put in motion something that can't be 
stopped,'' and that is the march of freedom.
    So I want to thank you for giving me a chance to visit with you. You 
just got to know the American people are proud of you. You've got 
tremendous support here at home, and there's nobody more proud of you 
than I am.
    Let me ask you some questions, Captain, if you don't mind. One of 
the, you know, questions I have is about the pre-election operations, 
about what you've been doing, and what are the--what's your strategy, 
and how do you think it's going for--to make sure the people have a 
chance to vote.
    By the way, you're in Tikrit, as I understand it as well. It's kind 
of an interesting place to be. It's Saddam's old stomping grounds.
    Capt. Kennedy. Good morning, Mr. President, from Tikrit. I'm Captain 
Brent Kennedy. To my right is Sergeant Major Akeel from the 5th Iraqi 
Army Division. We're working together here with the Iraqis in Task Force 
Liberty for the upcoming referendum. We're surging in an operation, 
called Operation Saratoga, that includes the securing of over 1,250 
polling sites. We're working right alongside with the Iraqis as they 
lead the way in securing these sites.
    The President. That's good. And so, like--I mean, and so the vote is 
in less than 48 hours--or about 48 hours, I guess. And so how do you--
how would--are you confident? I mean, how do you feel like the 
operations are going?
    Capt. Kennedy. Mr. President, I'm going to field that question to 
Captain Smith.
    The President. I didn't want to give you--I didn't want to throw you 
a hardball there, Captain.
    Capt. David J. Smith. Morning, Mr. President. I'm Captain Dave Smith 
from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'm representing the 3d Brigade Combat Team 
here in--headquartered in Baqubah.
    The President. Right.
    Capt. Smith. I work directly with the Iraqi army. I am responsible 
for coordinating all their security responses in our area of operations.
    Sir, our Iraqi partners have been conducting battalion and brigade-
size operations since April. They have been planning and coordinating 
with other Iraqi security forces, such as the Iraqi police and local 
government agencies, preparing for this referendum. Sir, we as coalition 
forces, we have taken a supporting role only as they prepare to execute 
this referendum.
    The President. How are they doing? Give us an assessment. One of the 
things, Captain, that people in America want to know is, one, do the 
Iraqis want to fight, and are they capable of fighting? And maybe 
somebody can give us an appraisal.
    Capt. Kennedy. Mr. President, I'm going to field that question to 
Captain Pratt.
    Capt. Stephen N. Pratt. Good morning, Mr. President. My name is 
Captain Stephen Pratt from Pocatello, Idaho, serving with the 116th 
Brigade Combat Team as the Iraqi army coordinator. The Iraqi army and 
police services, along with coalition support, have conducted many and 
multiple exercises and rehearsals. Recently we've conducted a command 
post exercise in which we brought together these Iraqi security forces 
with emergency service units and the joint coordination center, in which 
we all sat around a terrain model and discussed what each one would do 
at their specific location and what they would do at the referendum.
    It was impressive to me to see the cooperation and the communication 
that took place among the Iraqi forces. Along with the coalition's 
backing them, we'll have a very successful and effective referendum 
vote.
    The President. Captain, thank you very much. Let me ask you 
something. As you move around, I presume you have a chance to interface 
with the civilians there in that part of the world. And a lot of 
Americans are wondering whether or not people appreciate your presence 
or whether or not the people are anxious to be part of the democratic 
process. Can you give us a sense for the reception of the people there 
in Tikrit toward coalition forces as well as the Iraqi units that they 
encounter?
    Capt. Kennedy. Mr. President, I'm going to field this question to 
Captain Williams.
    Capt. David Williams. Mr. President, I'm Captain David Williams. I'm 
from Los

[[Page 1535]]

Angeles, California. I'm currently with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 
attached to the Military Transition Team. Sir, in north-central Iraq, 
voter registration is up 17 percent. That's 400,000 new voters in north-
central Iraq and 100,000 new voters in the al Salah ad Din province. 
Sir, I was with my Iraqi counterpart in Tikrit, the city Tikrit last 
week, and he was going around talking to the locals. And from what he 
told me that the locals told him, the Iraqi people are ready and eager 
to vote in this referendum.
    The President. That's good. It's pretty interesting. That's a pretty 
interesting concept for the people of Tikrit, when you really think 
about the fact that that was Saddam Hussein's hometown. They didn't get 
to vote too often when he was the leader there. Let me ask you about the 
progress. Most of you have been there for nearly a year, as I understand 
it.
    And is it possible to give us a sense, kind of a calibration of what 
life was like when you first got there and what it's like today?
    Capt. Kennedy. Mr. President, Master Sergeant Lombardo will answer 
this question.
    M. Sgt. Corine Lombardo. Good morning, Mr. President. I'm Master 
Sergeant Corine Lombardo, with the Headquarters 42d Infantry Division 
and Task Force Liberty, from Scotia, New York. First, I'd like to say 
that this is a pleasure to speak with you again. We had the honor of 
your visit in New York City on November 11th, in 2001, when you 
recognized our Rainbow Soldiers for their recovery and rescue efforts at 
Ground Zero.
    The President. Were you there?
    M. Sgt. Lombardo. We began our fight against terrorism in the wake 
of 9/11, and we're proud to continue it here in north-central New York--
north-central Iraq.
    The President. Let me ask you something. Were you there when I came 
to New York?
    M. Sgt. Lombardo. Yes, I was, Mr. President.
    The President. I thought you looked familiar. [Laughter]
    M. Sgt. Lombardo. Well, thank you.
    The President. I probably look familiar to you too. [Laughter]
    M. Sgt. Lombardo. Yes, you do, Mr. President. I can tell you over 
the past 10 months, we've seen a tremendous increase in the capabilities 
and the confidences of our Iraqi security force partners. We've been 
working side by side, training and equipping 18 Iraqi army battalions. 
Since we began our partnership, they have improved greatly, and they 
continue to develop and grow into sustainable forces. Over the next 
month, we anticipate seeing at least one-third of those Iraqi forces 
conducting independent operations.
    The President. That's important. The American people have got to 
know--and I appreciate you bringing that up, Sergeant Major, about how--
what the progress is like. In other words, we've got a measurement 
system----
    M. Sgt. Lombardo. Well, together----
    The President. I'm sorry, go ahead.
    M. Sgt. Lombardo. I'm sorry--just, together with our coalition 
forces, we've captured over 50 terrorists as well as detained thousands 
of others that have ties to the insurgency. And I believe it is these 
accomplishments and the numerous accomplishments from our task force 
that will provide a safe and secure environment for the referendum vote.
    The President. Well, I appreciate that. There's no question that we 
need to stay on the offense. And we need to stay on the offense with 
well-trained Iraqi forces, side by side the finest military ever to 
exist, and that's the United States military.
    M. Sgt. Lombardo. That it is, Mr. President. Thank you.
    The President. Yes. Sergeant Akeel, thanks for joining us. I 
appreciate--appreciate your service. You've got something to say, Akeel?
    Sgt. Maj. Shaker Nassir Akeel. Good morning, Mr. President. Thank 
you for everything. Thank very much for everything.
    The President. Yes, you're welcome.
    Sgt. Maj. Akeel. I like you. [Laughter]
    The President. Well, I appreciate that.
    1st Lt. Gregg A. Murphy. Good morning, Mr. President.
    The President. Go ahead.
    1st Lt. Murphy. I'm First Lieutenant Gregg Murphy from the 278th 
Regimental

[[Page 1536]]

Combat Team, from the Volunteer State of Tennessee. I want to tell you, 
sir, that we appreciate you coming with us today for this interview and 
hearing us express our confidence in the Iraqi security forces' role in 
the upcoming referendum. Sir, we are prepared to do whatever it takes to 
make this thing a success. But the important thing here is that the 
Iraqi army and the Iraqi security forces, they're ready, and they're 
committed. They're going to make this thing happen.
    Back in January, when we were preparing for that election, we had to 
lead the way. We set up the coordination. We made the plan. We're really 
happy to see, during the preparation for this one, sir, they're doing 
everything. They're making the plans. They're calling each other. 
They've got it laid out. So on Saturday, sir, we're going to be beside 
them. We're going to be there to support them through anything. But we 
can't wait to share in their success with them on Sunday.
    Sir, from all of us here at Task Force Liberty here in Tikrit, we 
want to express our gratitude to you for spending a little time with us 
this morning, and thank you, sir, for hearing our assessment of the 
current situation here in Tikrit, Iraq.
    The President. Well, Lieutenant, thanks. It's been my honor. And you 
know, I wish I could be there to see you face to face, to thank you 
personally. It's probably a little early for me to go to Tikrit, but one 
of these days perhaps the situation will be such that I'll be able to 
get back to Iraq to not only thank our troops but to thank those brave 
Iraqis who are standing strong in the face of these foreign fighters and 
these radicals that are trying to stop the march of freedom.
    Again, I want to thank you all for being so courageous and for 
stepping up when the United States of America needed you. I repeat what 
I said earlier: Please give your loved ones my deepest respect. And 
you've got to know, the American people are standing strong with you. 
We're proud of you. May God bless you all in your work, and when you get 
back to the States, you know, if I'm hanging around, come by and say 
hello. [Laughter]
    Thank you all.

Note: The teleconference began at 9:54 a.m. The President spoke from 
Room 350 of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building to troops 
in Tikrit, Iraq. In his remarks, he referred to former President Saddam 
Hussein of Iraq. Participating in the teleconference were Capt. Brent 
Kennedy, USA, Capt. David J. Smith, USA, Capt. Stephen N. Pratt, USA, 
Capt. David Williams, USA, M. Sgt. Corine Lombardo, USA, 1st Lt. Gregg 
A. Murphy, USA, S. Sgt. David Smith-Barry, USA, Sfc. Jerry R. Munoz, 
USA, Sgt. Dustin Giesbrecht, USA, and Sgt. Ronald E. Long, Jr., USA, 42d 
Infantry Division; and Sgt. Maj. Akeel Shaker Nassir, 4th Iraqi Army 
Division.