[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 19 (Monday, May 15, 2006)]
[Pages 915-916]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Military and Diplomatic Leaders

May 12, 2006

    I've just completed a second meeting with former Secretaries of 
State and former Secretaries of Defense on Iraq. We also discussed the 
broader Middle East as well.
    I want to thank you all very much for sharing your thoughts not only 
with me but with the Vice President and Secretary Rice and Secretary 
Rumsfeld. It really means a lot to hear your thoughts and your concerns 
and your suggestions about the way forward in Iraq. We've had our 
disagreements in this

[[Page 916]]

country about whether or not we should be there in the first place. Now 
the fundamental question is, how do we achieve our objectives, which is 
a democracy which can defend itself, sustain itself; a country which is 
an ally in the war on terror; and a country which serves as a powerful 
example for others who desire to be free.
    Since we last met, there has--a unity government is now in the 
process of becoming formed. I've got great hopes about this unity 
Government. We've got a Shi'a as the Prime Minister-designee, a Sunni as 
the Speaker, a Kurd as the President, all of whom have dedicated 
themselves to a country moving forward that meets the hopes and 
aspirations of the Iraqi people.
    There are certainly challenges, and the Secretaries here discussed 
those challenges with us. Perhaps the main challenge is the militia that 
tend to take the law into their own hands. And it's going to be up for 
the Government to step up and take care of that militia so that the 
Iraqi people are confident in the security of their country. It's 
important to have a secure Iraq in order for people to go about their 
daily lives. And we understand that.
    I also assured the Secretaries here that this Government is 
committed to success. They've got good people on the ground. We've got 
brave troops that are working every day to help this country succeed 
and, at the same time, deny safe haven to Al Qaida.
    And again, I want to thank the members for coming--the former 
Secretaries for coming. I think it's very useful for those of us who are 
helping to plot the strategies and the tactics to help secure this 
country, to hear from you. I'm optimistic about our successes. I know 
this: The only way we will not succeed is if we lose our nerve, we don't 
have faith in our values, and that we're constantly changing tactics on 
the ground to achieve our objectives.
    So thank you for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 10:30 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister-designate 
Jawad al-Maliki, Speaker of the Parliament Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, and 
President Jalal Talabani of Iraq. Participating in the meeting were 
former Secretaries of State Colin L. Powell, Madeleine K. Albright, 
Warren Christopher, James A. Baker III, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr.; and 
former Secretaries of Defense William S. Cohen, Frank C. Carlucci, James 
R. Schlesinger, Melvin R. Laird, and Robert S. McNamara.