For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 1, 2003
President's Radio Address
Audio
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week terrorists launched a
series of attacks in Iraq. Their targets included police stations in
Baghdad and Fallujah, the headquarters of the International Red Cross,
and living quarters for the Coalition Provisional Authority in
Baghdad. The majority of their victims were Iraqis working to rebuild
and restore order to their country, and citizens of other nations
engaged in purely humanitarian missions.
Some of the killers behind these attacks are loyalists of the
Saddam regime who seek to regain power and who resent Iraq's new
freedoms. Others are foreigners who have traveled to Iraq to spread
fear and chaos, and prevent the emergence of a successful democracy in
the heart of the Middle East. They may have different long-term goals,
but they share a near-term strategy: to intimidate Iraqis from
building a free government and to cause America and our allies to flee
our responsibilities. They know that a free Iraq will be free of them,
and free of the fear in which the ideologies of terror thrive.
During the last few decades, the terrorists grew to believe that if
they hit America hard -- as in Lebanon and Somalia -- America would
retreat and back down. Five years ago, one of the terrorists said that
an attack could make America run in less than 24 hours. They have
learned the wrong lesson. The United States will complete our work in
Iraq. Leaving Iraq prematurely would only embolden the terrorists and
increase the danger to America. We are determined to stay, to fight
and to win.
The terrorists and the Baathists loyal to the old regime will fail
because America and our allies have a strategy, and our strategy is
working. First, we are taking this fight to the enemy, mounting raids,
seizing weapons and funds and bringing killers to justice. One example
is Operation Ivy Focus, a series of aggressive raids by the Army's 4th
Infantry Division, that in a little over a month has yielded the
capture of more than 100 former regime members. In other operations
those soldiers have also seized hundreds of weapons, thousands of
rounds of ammunition and explosives, and hundreds of thousands of
dollars suspected of being used to finance terror operations.
Second, we are training an ever-increasing number of Iraqis to
defend their nation. Today, more than 90,000 Iraqis are serving as
police officers, border guards and civil defense personnel. These
Iraqi forces are also supplying troops in the field with better
intelligence, allowing for greater precision in targeting the enemies
of freedom. And we are accelerating our efforts to train and field a
new Iraqi army and more Iraqi civil defense forces.
Third, we are implementing a specific plan to transfer sovereignty
and authority to the Iraqi people. The Governing Council, made up of
Iraqi citizens, has appointed ministers who are responsible for the
day-to-day operations of the Iraqi government. The Council has also
selected a committee that is developing a process through which Iraqis
will draft a new constitution for their country. When a constitution
has been ratified by the Iraqi people, Iraq will enjoy free and fair
elections.
All these efforts are closely linked. As security improves, life
will increasingly return to normal in Iraq, and more and more Iraqis
will step forward to play a direct role in the rebirth of their
country. And as the political process moves forward and more and more
Iraqis come to feel they have a stake in their countries future, they
will help to secure a better life for themselves and their children.
The terrorists and the Baathists hope to weaken our will. Our will
cannot be shaken. We're being tested, and America and our allies will
not fail. We will honor the sacrifice of the fallen by ensuring that
the cause for which they fought and died is completed. And we will
make America safer by helping to transform Iraq from an exporter of
violence and terror into a center of progress and peace.
Thank you for listening.
END
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