For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 17, 2004
Statement by the President
On behalf of the American people, I condemn the brutal act of
terrorism against Iraqi Governing Council President Izzedin Saleem and
several Iraqi citizens. Mr. Saleem was a man of courage who risked his
life in pursuit of a free, democratic, and prosperous Iraq. I offer
our deepest condolences to the victims' families. I pray that God may
give them strength in this hour of grief.
On June 30, the flag of a free Iraq will be raised, and Iraq's new
interim government will assume sovereign authority. The terrorists
know that a free Iraq will be a major defeat for the cause of terror,
so they are trying to shake our confidence and will. The terrorists
have found little support among the Iraqi people. The vast majority of
Iraqi people want a free society. And the terrorists will find no
success in their attempts to shake the will of America and our
coalition.
###
|