For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 4, 2003
President's Radio Address
Audio
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This weekend in Iraq, 750 Iraqi
citizens completed their military training and became the first
battalion of the new Iraqi army. For decades, Iraq's army served the
interests of a dictator. Today a new army is serving the Iraqi
people. And less than a year from now, Iraq will have a 40,000-member
military force, trained and dedicated to protecting their fellow
citizens.
Our coalition is helping to train and equip Iraq's new army, so
that Iraqis can take over border protection and other security duties
as soon as possible. Soldiers in the new battalion join more than
80,000 other Iraqis who are defending their country's security. Iraq
now has a Civil Defense Corps of nearly 2,500, a border guard force of
4,700, and a facility protection service of over 12,000. And more than
half of the Iraqis under arms are police officers, instructed by
professionals like New York City's outstanding former police chief,
Bernard Kerik. Iraq's neighbor, Jordan, has announced that it will
help Iraq train additional police officers.
For three decades, the police in Iraq were the feared enforcers of
a dictatorship. Now Iraq's new police are enforcing the just laws of
an emerging democracy. Already the Iraqi police are assuming greater
responsibility, and greater risks. This week, Iraqi officers aided a
series of joint raids by American troops, leading to the arrest of more
than 50 suspected criminals and terrorists. We're on the offensive
against the desperate holdouts and Saddam loyalists who oppose progress
in Iraq. The free nation we are helping to build will be free of
them.
The United States is standing with the Iraqi people as they move
toward self-government. My wartime funding request to Congress
includes more than $5 billion to help the people of Iraq take
responsibility for their own security. These funds will be used to
prepare the Iraqi army, to train public safety and emergency personnel,
and to establish a fair and effective judicial system.
Greater security is essential to Iraq's future. A secure Iraq will
protect the nation's schools, and the hospitals that are opening, and
the roads that are being built, and the water and power facilities we
are repairing. Across Iraq, our coalition is turning over
responsibility to the future leaders of that country. Those leaders
include women. Just this weekend, a conference is being held at the
University of Babylon to affirm the vital role of women in the Iraqi
society.
The transition to self-government is a complicated process, because
it takes time to build trust and hope after decades of oppression and
fear. Yet we are making steady progress, and we will keep our promise
to fully return Iraq's government to Iraq's people as soon as
possible.
The men and women of our coalition have shown bravery and skill and
compassion in Iraq. And they know their mission. They know that we
are fighting terrorists in Iraq so that we will not have to face them
and fight them in the streets of our own cities. Our forces know that
a secure and sovereign Iraq will be a setback for terrorists, and an
inspiration to all who dream of freedom in the Middle East. And the
world can be certain, this essential mission in the war on terror will
be completed.
Thank you for listening.
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