For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 20, 2003
US/UK Declaration on Iraq
Declaration on Iraq by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair
For the first time in decades, the Iraqi people are enjoying the taste
of freedom. Iraqis are starting to rebuild their country and can look
to a brighter future. They are free of Saddam Hussein and his vicious
regime; they can speak freely; practice their religion; and start to
come to terms with the nightmare of the last 35 years, in which
hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were murdered by their own government.
But Iraq is still threatened by followers of the former regime, and
by outside terrorists who are helping them. The struggle is
difficult. Yet we shall persevere to ensure that the people of Iraq
will prevail, with the support of the new and strengthening Iraqi
security forces: the police, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, the
Facility Protection Service, the border police, and the New Iraqi
Army. We salute the courage of those Iraqis and the coalition forces
engaged in the struggle against reactionary elements in Iraq who want
to turn back the clock to the dark days of Saddam's regime.
We reaffirm the resolve of our two countries, with many friends and
allies, to complete the process of bringing freedom, security, and
peace to Iraq.
We warmly welcome the Iraqi Governing Council's announcement of a
timetable for the creation of a sovereign Iraqi Transitional
Administration by the end of June 2004, and for a process leading to
the adoption of a permanent constitution and national elections for a
new Iraqi government by the end of 2005.
This announcement is consistent with our long-stated aim of handing
over power to Iraqis as quickly as possible. It is right that Iraqis
are making these decisions and for the first time in generations
determining their own future. We welcome the Governing Council's
commitment to ensuring the widest possible participation in the
Transitional Assembly and constitutional process.
We reaffirm our long-term commitment to Iraq. The United States
and United Kingdom stand ready to support the Transitional
Administration in its task of building a new Iraq and its democratic
institutions. Our military participation in the multinational force in
Iraq will serve the Iraqi people until the Iraqis themselves are able
to discharge full responsibility for their own security. At the same
time, we hope that international partners will increasingly participate
in the multinational force.
Our long-term political, moral, and financial commitment to the
reconstruction of Iraq was underlined at the Madrid Donors Conference
last month. Although the Coalition Provisional Authority will come to
an end once the Transitional Administration is installed, the United
States and United Kingdom will continue to provide assistance as part
of the international support effort. In these tasks, we welcome the
involvement of other nations, regardless of earlier differences; of the
United Nations and the International Financial Institutions; and of the
many non-governmental organizations who are able to make an important
contribution.
Great challenges remain in Iraq. But the progress we have made
this year has been enormous. Iraqis no longer live in fear of their
own government, and Iraq's neighbors no long feel threatened. Our
resolve to complete the task we set ourselves remains undiminished.
Our partnership with the Iraqi people is for the long-term.
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