[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 37 (Monday, September 17, 2007)]
[Pages 1196-1197]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

September 8, 2007

    Good morning. Earlier this week, I traveled to Iraq's Anbar Province 
to visit our troops and see with my own eyes the remarkable changes they 
are making possible. If you want to see some photos from this trip, go 
to whitehouse.gov, where you can view a slideshow of my visit.
    Success in Anbar is critical to the democratic future of Iraq and to 
the war on terror. This largely Sunni Province covers nearly a third of 
Iraq. It stretches from the outskirts of Baghdad to Iraq's borders with 
Jordan and Syria and Saudi Arabia. And until recently, Anbar was Al 
Qaida's chief base of operations in Iraq.
    Last year at this time, Anbar was all over the news. Newspapers at 
the time cited a leaked intelligence report that was pessimistic about 
our prospects there. One columnist summed it up this way: ``The war is 
over in Anbar Province, and the United States lost.'' But local citizens 
soon saw what life under Al Qaida meant for them. The terrorists 
brutalized the people of Anbar and killed those who opposed their dark 
ideology. So the tribal sheiks of Anbar came together

[[Page 1197]]

to fight Al Qaida. They asked for support from the coalition and the 
Iraqi Government, and we responded.
    Together, we have driven Al Qaida out of strongholds in Anbar. The 
level of violence is down. Local governments are meeting again. Young 
Sunnis are joining the police and army. And normal life is returning. 
The people of Anbar have seen that standing up to the terrorists and 
extremists leads to a better life. And Anbar has shown that improving 
security is the first step toward achieving economic progress and 
political reconciliation.
    On my visit, I met with tribal sheiks who have fought with us 
against Al Qaida and who are now building a better future for their 
people and for all Iraqis. One Sunni sheik told me, ``We have suffered a 
great deal from terrorism. We strongly support the democracy you have 
called for. The previous regime [of Saddam Hussein] should not be 
characterized as a Sunni regime; it was a regime against the Sunnis, 
Shi'a, and the Kurds.''
    I also met with national leaders from Iraq's Government: President 
Talabani and Prime Minister Maliki, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, 
Vice President Abd Al-Mahdi, Vice President Hashimi, and President 
Barzani of the Kurdish region. These men come from different religious 
and ethnic backgrounds, but they all understand the importance of 
succeeding in Anbar. And so they're reaching out to help, with positive 
steps such as sharing oil revenues with Provincial leaders. I thanked 
the representatives of Iraq's Government for their efforts to support 
the bottom-up progress in Anbar. And I told them that the American 
people expect them to meet their commitments and pass the legislation 
they've agreed on.
    While in Iraq, I also received a good briefing from General David 
Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. They gave me an update on our 
military and political and economic efforts to support our Iraqi 
partners. They told me about the progress they're seeing across Iraq and 
their ideas for the way forward. In the next few days, they will come to 
Washington to give Congress their assessment of conditions on the 
ground. I urge the Members of Congress to listen to these two well-
respected professionals before jumping to any conclusions.
    Most importantly, during my visit, I met with our troops serving in 
Anbar. Every day, these fine men and women show courage under incredibly 
difficult circumstances. The work they're doing on the sands of Anbar is 
making us safer in the streets of America. Because of their bravery and 
sacrifice, our troops in Iraq are denying Al Qaida safe havens from 
which to plot and plan and carry out attacks against Americans both here 
and abroad. I know how hard it is for our men and women in uniform to be 
away from their families. I told them our Nation appreciates their 
willingness to serve and that the American people stand with them.
    Next week, after consulting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my 
national security team, Members of Congress from both parties, and Iraqi 
leaders, I will speak directly to the Nation about the recommendations 
General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have presented to me. I will 
discuss the changes our strategy has brought to Iraq. I will lay out a 
vision for future involvement in Iraq--one that I believe the American 
people and their elected leaders of both parties can support. By coming 
together on the way forward, we will strengthen Iraq's democracy, deal a 
blow to our enemies, secure interests in the Middle East, and make our 
Nation safer.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 6 p.m. on September 6 at the 
InterContinental Sydney in Sydney, Australia, for broadcast at 10:06 
a.m., e.d.t., on September 8. The transcript was made available by the 
Office of the Press Secretary on September 7 but was embargoed for 
release until the broadcast. Due to the 14-hour time difference, the 
radio address was broadcast after the President's remarks in Sydney, 
Australia. In his address, the President referred to Gen. David H. 
Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq. The 
Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of this address.