[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 12 (Monday, March 27, 2006)]
[Pages 495-497]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

March 18, 2006

    Good morning. In recent weeks, Americans have seen horrific images 
from Iraq: the bombing of a great house of worship in Samarra, sectarian 
reprisals between Sunnis and Shi'as, and car bombings and kidnappings. 
Amid continued reports about the tense situation in parts of that 
country, it may seem difficult at times to understand how we can say 
that progress is being made. But the reaction to the recent violence by 
Iraq's leaders is a clear sign of Iraq's commitment to democracy.
    I'm encouraged to see that Iraqi political leaders are making good 
progress toward

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forming a unity government, despite the recent violence. Our Ambassador 
to Iraq, Zal Khalilzad, reports that the violence has created a new 
sense of urgency among these leaders to form a national unity government 
as quickly as possible. I urge them to continue their work to put aside 
their differences, to reach out across political, religious, and 
sectarian lines, and to form a government that can confront the 
terrorist threat and earn the trust and confidence of all Iraqis.
    I also remain optimistic because, slowly but surely, our strategy is 
getting results. This month, I'm giving a series of speeches to update 
the American people on that strategy. I'm discussing the progress we are 
making, the lessons we have learned from our experience, and how we are 
fixing what has not worked. This past week, I discussed the security 
element of our strategy. I spoke about our increasingly successful 
efforts to train Iraqi security forces to take the lead in the fight 
against the terrorists. And I described our strengthened efforts to 
defeat the threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
    On Monday, I will give a speech discussing how we are working with 
all elements of Iraqi society to remove the terrorists and restore order 
in Iraqi cities, to rebuild homes and communities, and to achieve the 
stability that can come only from freedom. I will also share some 
concrete examples of how this approach is succeeding--evidence of real 
progress that is too often lost amid the more dramatic reports of 
violence.
    Sunday marks the third anniversary of the beginning of Operation 
Iraqi Freedom. The decision by the United States and our coalition 
partners to remove Saddam Hussein from power was a difficult decision, 
and it was the right decision. America and the world are safer today 
without Saddam Hussein in power. He is no longer oppressing the Iraqi 
people, sponsoring terror, and threatening the world. He is now being 
tried for his crimes, and over 25 million Iraqis now live in freedom. 
This is an achievement America and our allies can be proud of.
    These past 3 years have tested our resolve. We've seen hard days and 
setbacks. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, the terrorists made Iraq the 
central front in the war on terror, in an attempt to turn that country 
into a safe haven where they can plan more attacks against America. The 
fighting has been tough. The enemy has proved brutal and relentless. We 
have changed our approach in many areas to reflect the hard realities on 
the ground. And our troops have shown magnificent courage and made 
tremendous sacrifices.
    These sacrifices by our coalition forces--and the sacrifices of 
Iraqis--have given Iraq this historic opportunity to form a democratic 
government and rebuild itself after decades of tyranny. In the past 3 
years, Iraqis have gone from living under a brutal tyrant to liberation, 
sovereignty, free elections, a constitutional referendum, and last 
December, elections for a fully constitutional government. By their 
courage, the Iraqi people have spoken and made their intentions clear: 
They want to live in a democracy and shape their own destiny.
    In this fight, the American and Iraqi people share the same enemies 
because we stand for freedom. The security of our country is directly 
linked to the liberty of the Iraqi people, and we will settle for 
nothing less than complete victory. Victory will come when the 
terrorists and Saddamists can no longer threaten Iraq's democracy, when 
the Iraqi security forces can provide for the safety of their own 
citizens, and when Iraq is not a safe haven for the terrorists to plot 
new attacks against our Nation.
    More fighting and sacrifice will be required to achieve this 
victory, and for some, the temptation to retreat and abandon our 
commitments is strong. Yet there is no peace, there's no honor, and 
there's no security in retreat. So America will not abandon Iraq to the 
terrorists who want to attack us again. We will finish the mission. By 
defeating the terrorists in Iraq, we will bring greater security to our 
own country. And when victory is achieved, our troops will return home 
with the honor they have earned.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:38 a.m. on March 17 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 18. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 17 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office

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of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.