Bush: U.S. Will Stand by Iraqi Government

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – Discussions on Iraq between President Bush and military and civilian leaders at the Pentagon today were “candid and fruitful,” Bush said after the meeting.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, his successor Robert M. Gates, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff met with Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney in “the Tank,” the room where the Joint Chiefs routinely meet. The men discussed a new way forward that will help the Iraqi government confront and manage problems within Iraq.

“We all agree it is in our nation’s interest that we help (the Iraqi) government succeed,” Bush told media members after the meeting. “We recognize there are enemies that would like to topple this young democracy so they could have safe haven from which to plot and plan attacks against moderate nations in the Middle East, as well as attacks against the United States.”

Bush said the violence in Iraq has been horrific and that he is saddened by the loss of every life to this violence. U.S. personnel are paying the price, he noted, especially in Anbar province and Baghdad. “Our commanders report that the enemy has also suffered,” Bush added. “Effective operations by Iraqi and coalition forces against terrorists, insurgents and death squad leaders have yielded positive results. In the months of October, November and the first week of December, we have killed or captured 5,900 of the enemy.”

The enemy is far from defeated, the president said, but he stressed that the Iraqi government and coalition forces are taking the fight to the enemy.

In the midst of the strategic review the administration is undertaking, military operations are still taking place day and night in Iraq, the president said.

Bush also shared his thoughts on U.S. servicemembers. “The men and women in uniform are always on my mind,” he said. “I am proud of them; I appreciate their sacrifices; and I want them to know that I am focused on developing a strategy that will help them achieve their mission.”

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(Photo: President George W. Bush delivers remarks to the press on the new way forward in Iraq as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace and other defense officials listen at the Pentagon, Dec. 13, 2006. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen)