[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 2 (Monday, January 15, 2007)]
[Pages 25-30]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to Military Personnel and Their Families at Fort Benning, 
Georgia

January 11, 2007

    Thank you all. Please be seated. You call him ``General;'' I call 
him ``Wojo.'' [Laughter] Thank you for the introduction. I'm proud to be 
with you. I'm proud to be at Fort Benning, Georgia, home of the 
Infantry. I'm proud to be with those who have volunteered to serve our 
country, brave men and women who understand that the awesome 
responsibility of Government is to provide security to the American 
people. I applaud you for your efforts. I'm proud to be your Commander 
in Chief. And I'm honored to have lunch with you.
    I'm only sorry that my wife hasn't joined me. She's the better half 
of our deal. [Laughter] But she sends her love and her respect.
    Speaking about families, I have the greatest of respect for not only 
those of you who wear the uniform but your families as well. I fully 
understand, in times of danger the military families make a significant 
sacrifice. And so on behalf of a grateful nation, I say thanks to the 
families of the soldiers here at Fort Benning, Georgia.
    Wojo, I'm glad your wife, Candy, joined us. We both married well. I 
appreciate traveling here today with the United States Congressman who 
represents this area, Congressman Sanford Bishop. Thank you for coming, 
Congressman. And I'm pleased that Congressman Lynn Westmoreland--he is 
from the district right north of here--has joined us today. Lynn, thank 
you for being here.
    I appreciate the mayor of Columbus, Georgia, Mayor Wetherington. Mr. 
Mayor, thank you for being here. Thanks for coming. Mayor Hardin, of 
Phenix City, Alabama, has joined us. Mr. Mayor, appreciate you coming. I 
know you didn't ask, neither of the mayors asked, but sometimes I like 
to remind them, just go ahead and fill the potholes. [Laughter] I'm not 
suggesting there are any; it's just my advice.
    I appreciate all the officials, local officials who are here. I 
can't thank the commanders of the base who have arranged this visit--I 
do want to thank Keith Lovejoy, Colonel Keith Lovejoy, garrison 
commander of Fort Benning, and his wife, Carol; Sergeant Major Doug 
Greenway, his wife, JoAnn. You've got a little bit of a following here. 
[Laughter]
    I appreciate all the civilian personnel that have joined us to help 
make this base run. You know, our bases cannot run without the important 
contributions of civilians, and I appreciate your effort in helping this 
fine base survive. This is a really important place. This is a place 
that has a long tradition of turning civilians into highly skilled 
soldiers. And I

[[Page 26]]

can't thank you enough for the contribution you're making to the 
security of this country.
    There's a lot of history here at Fort Benning, Georgia. A lot of 
folks have left this base to defend freedom and pass the peace. And I 
appreciate the fact--and I know you do as well--that you're part of a 
long tradition of people who have made incredibly important sacrifices 
so that hundreds of millions of people would enjoy the blessings of 
liberty and freedom and the world will be more peaceful. And that's what 
we're here to celebrate today.
    On September the 11th, our Nation saw firsthand the destructive 
vision of a new kind of enemy, and once again the men and women of Fort 
Benning answered the call to protect our country from that enemy. You 
know, I knew that right after the attacks, the American psyche being 
what it is, people would tend to forget the grave threat posed by these 
people. I knew that. As a matter of fact, I was hoping that would happen 
so that life would go on. But the fortunate thing for this country is 
that those who wear the uniform have never forgotten the threat. You 
understand the stakes.
    You know, the Rangers from the 3d Battalion of the 75th Regiment led 
the way when it came to upholding doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a 
terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorists,'' and helped 
liberate Afghanistan. The first fight of this new war was in that 
faraway place. Soldiers from Fort Benning led the way.
    The 3d Brigade Combat Team of the 3d Infantry Division took up the 
sledgehammer to help liberate Baghdad. One soldier from Fort Benning, 
Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith of the 3d Infantry Division, went 
into Iraq. He was there when they surprised about 100 of Saddam 
Hussein's Republican Guard. They were attacked, and Sergeant Smith 
manned a 50-caliber machine gun atop a damaged armored vehicle to 
protect his men. He continued to fire from an exposed position. He took 
a fatal round. He saved more than 100 lives of American soldiers. He 
received the Medal of Honor.
    This is the kind of remarkable courage found throughout the men and 
women on this base. Troops from Fort Benning are now serving in Iraq 
right now, helping to protect the troops and the Iraqi citizens, 
training Iraqi security forces.
    You're doing something else remarkable. You're rebuilding schools 
and helping improve lives. Everywhere that warriors from this base 
serve, you leave your mark, and I believe it will be a legacy of hope 
and freedom and peace.
    Last night I talked about a new strategy for Iraq, and I want to 
share some thoughts with you about that. You know, in 2005, I was able 
to report to the country that nearly 12 million Iraqis had cast their 
ballots in a remarkable election. I hope you still remember the moments 
when people were proudly able to wave their fingers saying, ``We have 
shed ourselves from a tyrant,'' and, ``We're able to express our 
individual wills about the future of our country.'' I believe that 2005 
would have been a--we would have completed a lot of the mission and that 
would had been training the Iraqis so they would be in the lead, that 
they would be in a position to uphold the wishes of the 12 million 
people that voted.
    In spite of the remarkable progress, 2006 turned out differently 
than I had anticipated. And it did because there's an enemy there that 
recognizes that the advance of freedom is in contrast to their hopes and 
their dreams. They can't stand the thought of a free society. Al Qaida 
and foreigners and radicals took action trying to spur sectarian 
violence. They bombed holy--important holy site. They killed innocent 
people, and they were effective at spawning sectarian violence.
    The situation in Iraq is difficult, no question about it. It's a 
difficult time in Iraq because the sectarian violence needs to be 
challenged and stopped in order for this young society to advance. Yet 
it's important for our fellow citizens to understand that failure in 
Iraq would be a disaster for our future. And here's why. One of the 
wisest comments I've heard about this battle in Iraq was made by General 
John Abizaid--smart guy, a great soldier. He told me--he said, ``Mr. 
President, if we were to fail in Iraq, the enemy would follow us here to 
America.''
    It's a different kind of war in which failure in one part of the 
world could lead to disaster here at home. It's important for our 
citizens to understand that as tempting as it might

[[Page 27]]

be--to understand the consequences of leaving before the job is done. 
Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength. They would be 
emboldened. It would make it easier to recruit for their cause. They 
would be in a position to do that which they have said they want to do, 
which is to topple moderate governments, to spread their radical vision 
across an important region of the world.
    Imagine what would happen if these extremists who hate America and 
our way of life gained control of energy reserves. You can bet they 
would use those reserves to blackmail economies in order to achieve 
their objective. If we were to leave before the job is done, if we were 
to fail in Iraq, Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit of nuclear 
weapons. Our enemies would have safe havens from which to launch 
attacks. People would look back at this moment in history and say, 
``What happened to them in America? How come they couldn't see the 
threats to a future generation?'' That is why we must and we will 
succeed in Iraq.
    The most urgent priority for success in Iraq is security, especially 
in Baghdad. Only the Iraqis can end sectarian violence. That's their 
job. The Iraqis must secure their people. The Government recognizes 
they've got to do so, and they've put forth a plan. I received their 
plan, their version of the plan when I was in Jordan. The Prime Minister 
came and said, ``Look, I understand we've got to do something about this 
violence, and here is what I suggest we do.'' Our commanders looked at 
it, helped fine-tune it so it would work.
    The plan basically calls for the Government to appoint a military 
commander for Baghdad, which they have done. And they've got the city 
divided into 9 divisions in which there will be 18 Iraqi Army and 
National Police brigades operating out of local police stations to set 
up checkpoints, to knock on doors and take a census, to let them know 
that there is an Army presence in the neighborhood to protect them.
    The commanders on the ground there in Iraq, people who I listen to--
by the way, that's what you want your Commander in Chief to do. You 
don't want decisions being made based upon politics or focus groups or 
political polls. You want your military decisions being made by military 
experts. And they analyzed the plan, and they said to me and to the 
Iraqi Government, ``This won't work unless we help them. There needs to 
be a bigger presence.''
    And there needs to be a bigger presence because, in the past, we 
would go in with Iraqis and clear a neighborhood of extremists and 
terrorists, and then there wouldn't be enough troops to hold the 
neighborhood. So our kids would do a lot of hard work, and insurgents 
and terrorists and killers would generally not want to engage our 
troops--probably a pretty smart decision on their part. But when they 
did, they would find justice, and then we'd go on to another assignment, 
and they'd come back in the neighborhood. And it's frustrating to our 
troops; it's equally frustrating to the Iraqi citizens who want to live 
in peace. That's what they want. They want to be able to have a peaceful 
life.
    And so our commanders looked at the plan and said, ``Mr. President, 
it's not going to work until--unless we support--provide more troops.'' 
And so last night I told the country that I've committed an additional--
a little over 20,000 more troops, 5 brigades of which will be in 
Baghdad. They're going to work alongside the Iraqi units. They will be 
embedded in Iraqi units. They will help the Iraqis take the lead in 
securing the neighborhoods.
    They're going to have a well-defined mission. You hear people say, 
``There must be a clear military mission.'' That's what the military 
people have said to me. The mission is to help Iraqis clear and secure 
neighborhoods, to help Iraqis protect the local population, and to 
ensure that the Iraqi forces that are left behind will be capable of 
providing the security necessary in the capital city of Iraq. That's the 
mission.
    I asked General Casey, ``Can we accomplish that mission?'' He said, 
``You bet we can accomplish that mission.'' It's got enough troops to 
accomplish the mission. But one other thing must happen--that our troops 
and Iraqi troops must have proper rules of engagement. In other words, 
there can't be politics interfering with the action of our troops. The 
American people say, ``You tried it before,'' and we did. And they say, 
``What went wrong? What's different?''

[[Page 28]]

    Well, what's new about this plan is there will be enough troops to 
clear, build, and hold and that our troops will be able to move 
alongside the Iraqis without political interference, and that's very 
important. It's important for our troops to hear, and it's important for 
the American people to know, this is new. This is something different 
that enables the military folks to predict that we will succeed in 
helping quell sectarian violence in Baghdad.
    The other thing that's going to have to happen is that the 
Government of Iraq must exhibit the will necessary to succeed. It's one 
thing to develop a plan; it's another thing to see it through. The Prime 
Minister and I have had some plain talking. I have made it clear that 
the patience of the American people is not unlimited, and now is the 
time to act. It's time to act not only for our sake; it's time to act 
for the sake of people in Iraq. Shi'a and Sunni mothers want their 
children to grow up in peace.
    The Prime Minister has pledged that political or sectarian 
interference will not be tolerated. He has said this publicly. The new 
strategy is not going to yield immediate results. It's going to take 
awhile. The American people have got to understand that suicide bombings 
won't stop immediately. The IED attacks won't stop immediately.
    Yet over time, we can expect to see positive results, and that would 
be the Iraqis chasing down the murderers, that there will be fewer 
brazen acts of terror inside of Baghdad, that there will be growing 
trust between the different neighborhoods. In other words, you'll begin 
to see a society that is somewhat more peaceful. Daily life will 
improve. The Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders, and the 
Government will have the breathing space necessary to be able to do 
other things, to do the politics necessary, to reconcile, to pass an oil 
law, to allow there to be provincial elections, to make sure that de-
Ba'athification rules are altered, to say to people, ``This society is a 
unified society.'' In other words, to listen to the will of the 12 
million people that voted.
    We--it's interesting--you know, I mentioned that the Prime Minister 
and the Government have got to step up and lead. I was heartened by the 
resolve that I've seen in the last couple of days, the resolve of the 
Government and the resolve of the Iraqi troops. They fought bravely 
beside U.S. forces in Baghdad to rout out insurgents and terrorists 
along Haifa Street. I don't know if you followed that battle, but it was 
a tough battle, with the Iraqis in the lead and our folks helping them.
    Yesterday, the resolve was seen when Prime Minister Maliki made it 
clear that illegal militias, including the Mahdi army, have a choice to 
make: Either lay down your arms, or face justice. That's the kind of 
leadership that the Iraqi people expect, and that's the kind of 
leadership I expect and the American people expect. Our support is not 
open-ended. If the Iraqis demonstrate a willingness to fight for a 
better future, we'll help them. It's in our interests that we do so. Not 
only do we expect to see action militarily, as I mentioned, we expect to 
see them fulfill the benchmarks that they laid out for their people.
    We're going to help them. I was telling the general we'll double the 
number of Provincial Reconstruction Teams; our commanders and civilians 
will have greater flexibility to spend money on the ground. For those of 
you who have been there, it's called CERP money. You know, it's an 
effective tool to help part of the ``build'' part of clear, build, and 
hold. But their Government has got to come in behind us.
    I was pleased to see that the Iraqi Government pledged $10 billion 
of their own money to help this Government show the people that beyond 
just security there needs to be an improvement in life, that people have 
got to have--see a better life in order for this Government to work.
    Last night I also talked about Anbar Province. It's important for 
the American people to understand, Al Qaida still is in Iraq. As a 
matter of fact, they made it clear their ambitions in Iraq. These are 
the same folks that came and killed about 3,000 of our citizens. Their 
goal in Iraq is to topple the Government, topple democracy.
    See, their vision of life, their ideology can't stand the thought of 
free societies in their midst. They're totalitarians. You do it this way 
or else, is their attitude about government. They don't believe in 
freedoms, like

[[Page 29]]

freedom to worship. I frankly--well, speaking about religion, these are 
murderers. They use murder as a tool to achieve their objective. 
Religious people don't murder. They may claim they're religious, but 
when you kill an innocent woman or a child to create a political end, 
that's not my view of religion. And yet, there are a lot of peaceful, 
religious people in the Middle East.
    These people need to be stopped. They can't stand the thought of the 
Iraqis being able to worship freely. They want safe haven, and they've 
chosen Anbar as their place to achieve safe haven.
    We've got a lot of really fine troops fighting Al Qaida, and we're 
making progress. There's a lot of pressure on them in Anbar. 
Interestingly enough, a lot of sheiks have decided to join in the fight 
against Al Qaida. They're tired of foreigners and killers in their 
midst. That's what the commanders have told me. And they believe we have 
a good opportunity to really crush this group of folks. And that's why 
I've committed 4,000 additional troops into Anbar, as well as the troops 
into Baghdad.
    The purpose really is to crush these insurrections now, so that 
the--democracy in Iraq can develop, has a chance to make it. That's why 
I made the decision I made. I understand the consequences of failure; 
they're not acceptable. And so I thought long and hard how best to 
succeed. That's what I'm interested in, is success. The American people 
are interested in success. And I laid out a plan that is our best chance 
for success.
    It's also important for our citizens to understand that Iraq must be 
viewed in the larger context of the Middle East. It's important for Iran 
and Syria to understand that we will disrupt their attacks on our 
forces, that we will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. 
We'll seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and 
training to our enemies in Iraq.
    Iran's desire to have a nuclear weapon has caught the attention of 
the world. It is a very dangerous--that would be a dangerous situation 
if the Iranians were able to achieve a nuclear weapon. We will continue 
to pressure Iran, and call upon the world to do so, to end its nuclear 
weapons ambitions.
    I made a statement last night that I had ordered the deployment of 
an additional carrier strike group to the region. I also talked about 
Patriot missile systems in the region, to help others deal with the 
external threats. We will use our full diplomatic resources throughout 
the Middle East.
    It's very important for people to understand--put this situation in 
Iraq in a larger context, and that is the ideological war that we're 
seeing. I talked to you about the consequences of failure. The best way 
to defeat the totalitarian of hate is with an ideology of hope--an 
ideology of hate, excuse me, with an ideology of hope. It matters 
whether or not people are resentful in the Middle East. It matters if 
people are hateful and look to strike out at a convenient target in the 
Middle East. Our security depends on there to be a alternative to the 
ideology of hate. Because if there's resentment and hate, it's easier to 
recruit 19 kids to get on an airplane and kill 3,000 people.
    And therefore, in the long run, your children and grandchildren are 
more likely to live in peace with the advent of liberty. And I'm 
confident that there are millions of people who are desirous to live in 
a free society, regardless of their religion, because I believe in the 
universality of freedom. I believe there's an Almighty, and I believe a 
gift of the Almighty to every soul is the desire to be free. That's what 
I believe, and so it did not surprise me when people defied car bombers 
and killers to vote, to send a signal, ``I want to be free.''
    And the task, immediate task of America, and the long-range goal of 
this country must be to help those who desire to live in free societies 
to do so, for the sake of peace for our own children. And that's the 
call. And it's going to require sacrifice, and I appreciate the 
sacrifices our troops are willing to make. Some units are going to have 
to deploy earlier than scheduled as a result of the decision I made. 
Some will remain deployed longer than originally anticipated. I will 
work with you and the Congress to provide all the resources you need in 
this war on terror, and that means good equipment and training, good 
housing. I understand full well, if you're family is happy, you're 
happy. The same thing in my house, by the way. [Laughter]

[[Page 30]]

    I believe it's important to increase the end strength of the United 
States Army so it can remain engaged--[applause]. If this is a long 
struggle, now is the time to prepare this country and our military for 
this long struggle. It's important for our citizens to understand that 
the terrorists and extremists are as brutal an enemy as this country has 
ever faced. There are no rules of warfare. They don't--they will kill 
you in a minute in order to achieve an objective. And I know we're going 
to face difficulties as we take on this important duty and task, and so 
do you.
    You know firsthand that--what it means to lose a comrade. My view is 
that it is important for us to succeed so that comrade would not have 
died in vain. It's important to leave behind a better world, as the 
sacrifices that all have made.
    There is no doubt in my mind, we will prevail. It will require 
patience and determination. It will require our military to do what you 
have done every time this Government has asked of you. It will require 
the full resolve of not only this Government but future Governments that 
will be following this one. Every time this country has been tested, 
we've responded. As I said last night, we have defied the pessimists, 
and we will do so again in this first battle of the 21st century.

    God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 1:10 p.m. in Freedom Hall. In his remarks, 
he referred to Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, USA, commanding general, 
Fort Benning, who introduced the President; Mayor William J. 
Wetherington of Columbus, GA; Mayor Jeff Hardin of Phenix City, AL; Sgt. 
Maj. Douglas Greenway, USA, command sergeant major, U.S. Army Infantry 
Center; Gen. John P. Abizaid, USA, combatant commander, U.S. Central 
Command; Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq; and Gen. George W. 
Casey, Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq.