For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 11, 2003
Interview of the National Security Advisor by KHOU-TV, Houston, Texas
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
November 10, 2003
2:37 P.M. EST
Q Ms. Rice, the United States military is increasingly coming
under fire and being engaged by these insurgents in Iraq. Is this
starting to look more like war again, and less like peacekeeping?
DR. RICE: The American Armed Forces and the coalition armed forces
are, indeed, encountering remnants of the old regime. And they
marrying up with some foreign terrorists that are coming into the
country because they know the importance of Iraq to their mission of
destabilizing the United States and its allies. And so, yes, we're
facing remnants. But these are not -- this is not a large-scale,
organized army of the kind that we were fighting in March and April of
this past year, with the kind of nationwide command and control
structure. These are largely remnants.
They do coordinate -- there's no doubt about that -- and they are
increasingly sophisticated. But we have a good strategy for addressing
them, which is, first of all, to go to the places where they try and
hide and to root them out. We're using intelligence increasingly given
to us by the Iraqi people to capture and detain and, in some cases,
kill these bad guys who want very much to stop the progress that is
being made in Iraq.
These are the same people who tortured and murdered and maimed
Iraqi citizens for the almost 30 years of the Saddam Hussein regime.
And so it's not surprising that they're perfectly happy to attack the
International Red Cross, or the United Nations, or for that matter, to
threaten school children. So we have a good strategy for dealing with
them. That strategy depends heavily on increasing the number of Iraqis
involved in their own security. We have nearly 118,000 now, Iraqis,
who are on a daily basis involved in their own security. They are the
ones who will fight for their country, and they are fighting for the
progress that's being made.
Q With that said, let's delve a little bit deeper into that
strategy because now at this point, the United States has lost more
troops after the war than during the war -- since that invasion began.
Will the casualty rate ever really have an effect or an impact or
dictate American policy? Will it ever make a difference in how long we
stay or when we leave?
DR. RICE: The President is committed to getting this job done in
Iraq. We would not have gone to war in Iraq had it not been critical
to American security. When we were attacked on September 11th and lost
3,000 lives in one day, the President made clear that we were going to
fight this war on the offensive. We were not going to sit back and
wait to be attacked again. And that's what we're doing.
And the President mourns every loss and knows the sacrifices that
we're asking of men and women in uniform, and particularly, their
families. But nothing of value has ever been won without sacrifice.
And American security is at stake here. We learned on September 11th
that we can't just sit back and expect our oceans to protect us. And
so this is a war, this is an effort that will make America more
secure.
Q Whether Americans are dying overseas in Iraq, or here in this
country, what's being done to reevaluate that strategy in Iraq?
Because a loss of American life is a loss of life.
DR. RICE: The loss of American life is, indeed, tragic. The loss
of coalition lives is, indeed, tragic. But we are committed, and this
President is committed to showing that the will of the coalition will
not be broken. We are going to do the job that needs to be done in
Iraq. And again, we have to recognize what is at stake here. And what
is at stake is our security to live in a world in which we do not have
to worry about 3,000 lives being lost on one day out of another
September 11th event.
Iraq is the central front now in this war on terrorism because with
a stable and secure Iraq, a very hard blow will be dealt to the
international jihad, the international terrorist movement that caused
September 11th and intends to continue to pursue us. And so the
President is aware of the sacrifices. He appreciates the sacrifices.
But we also understand that this is a matter of will. We're determined
to finish this job, and America will be far more secure for it.
Q Some Democrats are getting restless with the administration
policy. In fact, today Joseph Biden called for NATO involvement. Will
the administration now start actively seeking some outside involvement
in Iraq?
DR. RICE: Well, we have nearly 40 countries involved in Iraq
today. This is a coalition. The Poles and the Spanish are in charge
of sectors. The British, of course, are there. America is not there
alone. And we have more and more foreign -- more and more allied
forces coming into help us in this cause.
But we have always wanted to have as much international
participation as possible. But what's key is to get this job done.
Everybody now understands -- and that's what the United Nations
Security Council vote was about a few days -- a few weeks ago,
Resolution 1511, that a stable and secure Iraq is fundamental and
critical to the security of life as we know it in the free world.
Q Ms. Rice, we really appreciate the access through for
administration. But this is fairly unprecedented. Quite honestly, if
we called and asked for these interviews, we'd rarely, if ever, get
them. With the death toll rising in Iraq, is there a fear within the
administration that you're across losing public opinion with your
policy with Iraq? Is that the reason that we're -- you're reaching out
like this?
DR. RICE: It is extremely important in difficult times -- and
these are difficult times in Iraq -- that the President and his
advisors get every opportunity to speak to the American people because
it is the American people who need to support his. And we believe we
have excellent support from the American people. The American people
need to understand what's at stake here. And so it's important to get
that message out. And I hope we'll have a chance to do it again.
Q All right, we know these are difficult times. And we
appreciate the access that you have provided. Thanks so much for
joining us.
DR. RICE: Thank you very much.
2:43 P.M. EST END
|