[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 24 (Monday, June 19, 2006)]
[Pages 1118-1120]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 10, 2006

    Good morning. This was a good week for the cause of freedom. On 
Wednesday night in Iraq, U.S. military forces killed the terrorist 
Zarqawi.
    The killing of Zarqawi is an important victory in the global war on 
terror. This Jordanian-born terrorist was the operational commander of 
Al Qaida in Iraq. He led a

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campaign of car bombings and kidnappings and suicide attacks that has 
taken the lives of many American forces, international aid workers, and 
thousands of innocent Iraqis. Zarqawi had a long history of murder and 
bloodshed. Before September the 11th, 2001, he ran a camp in Afghanistan 
that trained terrorists--until coalition forces destroyed that camp. He 
fled to Iraq, where he received medical care and set up operations with 
terrorist associates.
    After the fall of Saddam, Zarqawi went underground and declared his 
allegiance to Usama bin Laden, who called him the ``Prince of Al Qaida 
in Iraq'' and instructed terrorists around the world to ``listen to him 
and obey him.'' Zarqawi personally beheaded American hostages and other 
civilians in Iraq. He masterminded the destruction of the United Nations 
headquarters in Baghdad, and he was responsible for the assassination of 
an American diplomat in Jordan and the bombing of hotels in Amman. His 
goals in Iraq were clear: He wanted to stop the rise of democracy, drive 
coalition forces out, incite a civil war, and turn that country into a 
safe haven from which Al Qaida could launch new attacks on America and 
other free nations. Instead, Zarqawi died in the free and democratic 
Iraq that he fought so hard to prevent, and the world is better off 
because this violent man will never kill again.
    Iraqis can be justly proud of their new Government and its early 
steps to improve their security. And Americans can be enormously proud 
of the men and women of our Armed Forces and the intelligence officers 
who support them. In the past 3 years, our troops have overthrown a 
cruel dictator, fought the terrorists and insurgents house to house, and 
trained Iraqi forces to defend their new democracy. All the while, they 
stayed on the trail of this brutal terrorist, persevering through years 
of near misses and false leads and never giving up hope. This week, they 
got their man. And all Americans are grateful for their remarkable 
achievement.
    Zarqawi is dead, but the difficult and necessary mission in Iraq 
continues. In the weeks ahead, violence in Iraq may escalate. The 
terrorists and insurgents will seek to prove that they can carry on 
without Zarqawi. And coalition and Iraqi forces are seizing this moment 
to strike the enemies of freedom in Iraq at this time of uncertainty for 
their cause. The work ahead will require more sacrifice and the 
continued patience of the American people.
    I'm encouraged by Prime Minister Maliki's determination to defeat 
our common enemies and bring security and rule of law to all Iraqis. 
This week, he took another major step toward this objective when he 
completed the formation of his Cabinet--naming a new Minister of 
Defense, a new Minister of the Interior, and a new Minister of State for 
National Security. These new leaders will help the Government address 
its top priorities: reconciliation, reconstruction, and putting an end 
to the kidnappings, beheadings, and suicide bombings.
    As they pursue these goals, they will have America's full support. 
On Monday, I will convene my national security team and other key 
members of my Cabinet at Camp David to discuss the way ahead in Iraq. On 
Tuesday, Iraq's new Ambassador to the United States will join us, and we 
will have a teleconference discussion with Prime Minister Maliki and 
members of his Cabinet. Together we will determine how to best deploy 
America's resources in Iraq and achieve our shared goal of an Iraq that 
can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.
    There's still difficult work ahead in Iraq. Yet this week, the 
ideology of terror has suffered a severe blow: Al Qaida has lost its 
leader in Iraq; the Iraqi people have completed a democratic government 
that is determined to defend them; and freedom has achieved a great 
victory in the heart of the Middle East.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:45 p.m. on June 8 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 10. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 9 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his 
address, the President referred to senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab 
Al Zarqawi, who was killed in Baquba, Iraq, on June 7; Usama bin Laden, 
leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; former President Saddam 
Hussein, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki,

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Minister of Defense Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji, Minister of Interior Jawad 
al-Bulani, and Minister of State for National Security Shirwan al-Waili 
of Iraq; and Iraq's Ambassador to the U.S. Samir Shakir al-Sumaydi. The 
Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of this address.