[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 50 (Monday, December 19, 2005)]
[Pages 1867-1868]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With Ambassador to the United Nations 
Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie of Iraq

December 16, 2005

    President Bush. It's my honor to welcome the Ambassador to the 
United Nations from Iraq. This good man has been a--is an Iraqi patriot. 
He was there in Iraq right after liberation. He helped write the TAL, 
which is the go-by for the new Constitution. He's serving his country in 
New York now. He was a voter yesterday in the elections.
    The reason he came by to say hello is, we want to talk about what a 
glorious day it was yesterday for the Iraqi citizens and what we're 
going to do to work together to make sure that we complete our mission, 
and that is to have an Iraq that can defend itself and sustain itself, 
an Iraq that will help us defeat the terrorists in this war on terror, 
an Iraq that will serve as such a powerful example

[[Page 1868]]

for other countries in the region that share the same desires as the 
Iraqi citizen--that is the desire to live in a free world and a free 
society.

    I'm so pleased to hear the stories from his Al Anbar Province, where 
his grandfather was--lived. And he was telling me about the stories from 
the village where he was from, about how there's no phone service 
because the terrorists blew up the capacity for people to make phone 
calls. But they forgot to shut off the Internet, and people were then 
describing for this good man what it was like to participate in the 
democratic process.

    It was a remarkable day yesterday in the history of mankind and in 
the history of freedom.

    And so, Mr. Ambassador, I'm glad you're here. Thank you so much for 
serving with such dignity. Welcome. It's been great talking to you.

    Ambassador Sumaida'ie. Thank you, Mr. President. I believe that 
yesterday was a great day for Iraq; it was a great day for freedom. I 
think it was the turning point and the beginning of the end of terrorism 
in Iraq.

    Iraqis have written, with their blood, a chapter of their history 
which will be remembered for decades, with the help of the American 
troops, with your help, Mr. President, and the help of the American 
people, which we will remember and appreciate for generations.

    Thank you very much, Mr. President. And I believe that we should 
keep our eye on the ball and make sure that the mission is accomplished 
and we build an Iraq which is stable, at peace with itself and with its 
neighbor, and forever, I hope, a reliable ally of the United States.

    President Bush. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 1:40 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House.