[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 43 (Monday, October 30, 2006)]
[Pages 1869-1870]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

October 21, 2006

    Good morning. Earlier this week, I spoke with Prime Minister Maliki 
of Iraq. We discussed the recent increase in violence in his country. 
Attacks have grown significantly during the first weeks of the Muslim 
holy month of Ramadan.
    There are a number of reasons for this increase in violence. One 
reason is that coalition and Iraqi forces have been conducting focused 
operations to bring security to Baghdad. Side by side, Iraqi and 
American forces are operating in the city's most violent areas to 
disrupt Al Qaida, capture enemy fighters, crack down on IED makers, and 
break up death squads. As we engage our enemies in their stronghold, 
these enemies are putting up a tough fight. In a briefing in Iraq on 
Thursday, General William Caldwell said the operation to secure Baghdad 
has ``not met our overall expectations.'' He also explained, ``It's no 
coincidence that the surge in attacks against coalition forces coincides 
with our increased presence in the streets in Baghdad.''
    Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory. What 
is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal. Our commanders 
on the ground are constantly adjusting their approach to stay ahead of 
the enemy, particularly in Baghdad. General Pete Pace, the Chairman of 
the Joint Chiefs, recently put it this way: ``From a military 
standpoint, every day is a reassessment day.'' We have a strategy that 
allows us to be flexible and to adapt to changing circumstances. We've 
changed the way we train the Iraqi security forces. We have changed the 
way we deliver reconstruction assistance in areas that have been cleared 
of terrorist influence. And we will continue to be flexible and make 
every necessary change to prevail in this struggle.
    Iraq's new leaders are beginning to take the difficult steps 
necessary to defeat the terrorists and unite their country. The Prime 
Minister recently met with tribal leaders from Anbar Province, who told 
him they are ready to stand up and fight the terrorists. He's also taken 
action to clean up the Iraqi National Police. His government suspended a 
National Police unit after allegations that some of its members were 
linked to militias and death squads. A battalion commander was arrested 
for possible complicity in sectarian deaths. And earlier this week, two 
of Iraq's most senior police commanders were reassigned as part of a 
major restructuring of the national police force.
    Another reason for the recent increase in attacks is that the 
terrorists are trying to influence public opinion here in the United 
States. They have a sophisticated propaganda strategy. They know they 
cannot defeat us in the battle, so they conduct high-profile attacks, 
hoping that the images of violence will demoralize our country and force 
us to retreat. They carry video cameras and film their atrocities and 
broadcast them on the Internet. They e-mail images and video clips to 
Middle Eastern cable networks like Al Jazeera and instruct their 
followers to send the same material to American journalists, authors, 
and opinion leaders. They operate web sites, where they post messages 
for their followers and readers across the world.
    In one recent message, the Global Islamic Media Front--a group that 
often posts Al Qaida propaganda on web sites--said their goal is to 
``carry out a media war that is parallel to the military war.'' This is 
the same strategy the terrorists launched in Afghanistan following 9/11. 
In a letter to the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Usama bin Laden wrote 
that Al Qaida intended to wage ``a media campaign to create a wedge 
between the American people and their Government.''
    The terrorists are trying to divide America and break our will, and 
we must not allow them to succeed. So America will stand with the 
democratic Government of Iraq. We will

[[Page 1870]]

help Prime Minister Maliki build a free nation that can govern itself, 
sustain itself, and defend itself. And we will help Iraq become a strong 
democracy that is a strong ally in the war on terror.
    There is one thing we will not do: We will not pull our troops off 
the battlefield before the mission is complete. There are some in 
Washington who argue that retreating from Iraq would make us safer. I 
disagree. Retreating from Iraq would allow the terrorists to gain a new 
safe haven from which to launch new attacks on America. Retreating from 
Iraq would dishonor the men and women who have given their lives in that 
country and mean their sacrifice has been in vain. And retreating from 
Iraq would embolden the terrorists and make our country, our friends, 
and our allies more vulnerable to new attacks.
    The last few weeks have been rough for our troops in Iraq and for 
the Iraqi people. The fighting is difficult, but our Nation has seen 
difficult fights before. In World War II and the cold war, earlier 
generations of Americans sacrificed so that we can live in freedom. This 
generation will do its duty as well. We will defeat the terrorists 
everywhere they make their stand, and we will leave a more hopeful world 
for our children and our grandchildren.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:30 p.m. on October 20 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 21. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
October 20 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his 
address, the President referred to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of 
Iraq; Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, spokesman, Multi-National 
Force--Iraq; and Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist 
organization. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.