    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 39 (Monday, October 1, 2007)]
    [Pages 1249-1250]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq
    in New York City

    September 25, 2007

        President Bush. Mr. Prime Minister, it's good to see you again. We
    generally meet via TV screens--[laughter]--and now it's good to see you
    in person. And I appreciate your delegation coming. You brought a very
    distinguished delegation--Ministers in this Government, the Foreign
    Minister, the Speaker of the Assembly is with us today--Mr. Speaker,
    thank you.
        We talked about a lot of issues and spent time talking about
    reconciliation and law. And the Prime Minister and the Speaker are
    dedicated to getting good law out of the Assembly. And the political
    parties in Iraq must understand the importance of getting these laws
    passed. Some politicians may be trying to block the law to gain special
    advantage. And these parties have got to understand that it's in the
    interests of Iraq to get good law passed. And so I want to thank you for
    your dedication and your commitment to laws that will help this young
    democracy reconcile and move forward.
        The Prime Minister and I have talked about a variety of concerns.
    And I assured him we want his security forces well-trained, mobile, and
    capable of handling Iraqi security on their own. I have made it clear to
    the American people that our troop levels will depend upon success. When
    General Petraeus reported to the country, you know, I talked about
    troops coming home based upon success. And success in Iraq is important
    to the future of our country, and it's obviously important to the people
    of Iraq.
        You're sitting in a vital region and when you succeed--which I'm
    confident you will--it'll send a message to other people who believe in
    peace. It'll make it easier for people to grow up with a hopeful future
    in the Middle East. When that happens, it makes America more secure. If
    we were to leave before the job is done, chaos could ensue, innocent
    people would lose their life, extremists would be emboldened, nations
    that are worried about the United States would--about our commitment
    would lose their nerve, the countries of the Middle East would be
    endangered, and that would cause America to be endangered as well.
        And so we're with you, Prime Minister. We thank you for the courage
    of the Iraqi people. We expect there to be reconciliation and law, just
    like you expect there to be reconciliation and law. And I appreciate
    your time today. Appreciated your remarks yesterday; I thought they were
    strong remarks about a hopeful Iraq. And it's good to be with you.
        Prime Minister Maliki. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I am
    grateful to be here with you. I thank you for the meeting with your
    distinguished delegation and with my delegation.
        During the meeting with the President, we have reviewed a number of
    issues. We have discussed a variety of issues. All of them are common
    issues that we strongly believe that they represent the mutual goal that
    we have, the mutual goal of confronting and defeating terrorism, as well
    as building and continuing to build the Iraqi institutions and the Iraqi
    Government.
        The Iraqi side is fully prepared to assume all the responsibilities
    and to work for a better future for all of Iraq. We have made it very
    clear and emphasized that the future of Iraq goes through the gates of
    national reconciliations, of political agreements. That is the way to
    make the states, and that's the way to ensure and assure the future of
    Iraq.
        The task before us is gigantic. We have succeeded in ridding Iraq of
    the dictatorship and the regime that governed there. Now we have another
    challenge, which is to get rid of terrorism, terrorist organizations.
    The road will be long; it requires cooperation from everyone and the
    international community in order to uproot terrorism and secure a better
    future for everyone.
        We believe and we feel that there is a development and progress
    that's happening every day in our political life, in the way to

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    manage and administer the country in the security situation. Of course,
    as the President referred, also we have some spending legislations--that
    we will continue to exert every possible efforts to have those spending
    legislations passed. They've been sent to the Iraqi Parliament. But
    also, we continue to work on the basis of the existing law, and we
    continue to work to have those legislations passed.
        We also discussed the importance of the region where we live. It is
    a vital region. It is important for Iraq and the region to be away from
    conflicts, to have a stable region and a stable Iraq, and to uproot
    terrorism in that part of the world and in that country. Iraq's security
    is very important, and we have talked about the importance of mutual
    respect between our two sides and working together for our mutual goals.
    We have a great deal of confidence that we will be victorious. Shukran.
        President Bush. Shukran.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. In
    his remarks, he referred to Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Mahmud
    Zebari and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mahmud al-Mashhadani
    of Iraq; and Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding general, Multi-
    National Force--Iraq. Prime Minister Maliki spoke in Arabic, and his
    remarks were translated by an interpreter.