[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 11 (Monday, March 20, 2006)]
[Pages 454-455]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Briefing by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device 
Defeat Organization and an Exchange With Reporters

March 11, 2006

    The President. Good morning. I want to thank General Meigs for being 
here to brief me about tactics on the ground in Iraq. One of the things 
that the Secretary and General Pace are constantly doing is briefing the 
Commander in Chief as to the nature of the enemy, what the enemy is 
trying to do to shake our will, and how we're adjusting, how we're 
constantly adapting our tactics on the ground to achieve a victory.
    We face an enemy that will use explosive devices in order to shake 
our will; in order to foment violence in Iraq; in order to try to 
convince the American people that we can't win in Iraq. That's what 
they're trying to do. And the general has spent a lot of time thinking 
about the enemy's tactics and techniques, and how our military can 
adjust to them.
    So the briefing today was a series of briefing I get from our 
commanders on the ground, as well as our experts hired by the Pentagon 
to let me know what we're doing, so I can let the American people know 
that we recognize the nature of this enemy. We're adjusting our tactics 
to defeat this enemy for the sake of peace, for the sake of the security 
of the United States of America, and for the sake of peace in the world.
    And so, General, thank you for being here. I appreciate your time. 
I'll answer a couple of questions. Deb [Deb Riechmann, Associated 
Press].

Former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Claude Allen

    Q. Mr. President, can you tell us your reaction to the arrest of 
your former Domestic Policy Adviser, Claude Allen?
    The President. If the allegations are true, Claude Allen did not 
tell my Chief of Staff and legal counsel the truth, and that's deeply 
disappointing. If the allegations are true, something went wrong in 
Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad. When I heard the story last 
night, I was shocked. And my first reaction was one of disappointment, 
deep disappointment that--if it's true--that we were not fully informed. 
But it was also one--shortly thereafter, I felt really sad for the Allen 
family.
    Caren [Caren Bohan, Reuters].

Republican Party/Dubai Ports World

    Q. Sir, are you concerned about the rift that the Dubai Ports deal 
has opened within your own party?
    The President. The Republican Party is united in our efforts to win 
the war on terror. The Republican Party is united in our efforts to keep 
this economy strong by keeping taxes low. The Republican Party is united 
in making us less dependent on foreign sources of oil.
    I've read all the stories about this rift or that rift. That's 
typical Washington, it seems like to me. I am looking forward to 
continuing to work with the leadership in the United States Congress to 
pass an agenda that will keep America the economic leader of the world 
and will keep this country secure. And next fall, I'm looking forward to 
campaigning with our candidates. I'm convinced ours is the party that 
has got an agenda for the future, and ours is the party that has 
performed.
    Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News].

Progress in Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, are you concerned, with reference to the IEDs, are 
you concerned that the sophisticated weaponry our troops are facing now 
might be coming from foreign, neighboring countries? And if so, what are 
our courses going about----
    The President. We're constantly gathering intelligence. We're 
monitoring influence. We are adjusting our tactics. We are--obviously, 
if there's any kind of influence from a foreign country that is 
disruptive, any kind of influence--if the Iranians are trying to 
influence the outcome of the political process or the outcome of the 
security situation there, we're letting them know our displeasure.
    Our call is for those in the neighborhood to allow Iran--Iraq to 
develop a democracy. And that includes our call to Iran as well as to 
Syria. We have made our concerns known, and we will continue to make our 
concerns

[[Page 455]]

known. It's in the interests of the neighborhood that Iraq develop to be 
a peaceful democracy. It's important for countries to have stable, 
peaceful, prosperous countries on their border. Prosperity in one nation 
will help prosperity in other nations. It's important for our friends in 
the rest of the Middle East to help this new democracy.
    And so, yes, we're interested in negative influence; we're also 
interested in positive influence. And we call on people to be a positive 
influence, to help this new democracy emerge. And I'm optimistic that 
the Iraqi people will overcome the challenges they face.
    And my optimism is based upon reality on the ground. One, there were 
some people trying to, obviously, foment sectarian violence. Some have 
called it a civil war. But it didn't work. Secondly, I'm optimistic 
because the Iraqi security forces performed, in most cases, really well 
to provide security. All but two of the provinces of Iraq, after the 
blowing up of the mosque, were settled. I'm positive and optimistic 
about the development that the Iraqi security forces are achieving.
    I know we've got to do more work in the police forces; we have said 
that very clearly. General Casey has called the year 2006, the year of 
police training, and we'll continue to work to train the police. I'm 
optimistic that the leadership recognizes that a sectarian violence will 
undermine the capacity for them to self govern. I believe we'll have a 
unity government in place that will help move the process forward. I 
fully recognize that the nature of the enemy is such that they want to 
convince the world that we cannot succeed in Iraq. I know we're going to 
succeed if we don't lose our will.
    Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 8:46 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Montgomery C. Meigs, 
director, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization; and 
Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-National 
Force--Iraq.