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Edited on Tue Jun-28-05 01:54 PM by norml
Next week Americans will celebrate the 229th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that launched our war of liberation. It's easy to forget that those early patriots faced monumental difficulties as they sought to overcome an array of failures and obstacles. But they had the vision and the courage to persevere and establish the first enduring democracy the world had then known. The people of Iraq today are in the earliest days of their struggle to build a multiethnic democracy. Ultimately, it will be up to the Iraqi people -- not the United States, not the coalition -- to rebuild and secure their country. The mission of our coalition is to create an environment, where the Iraqis themselves can contain and ultimately defeat their insurgency. It has been one year since the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people. That is not very long, yet the Iraqis have accomplished a great deal, including holding an election and convening an assembly to write a constitution. We have a clear strategy for success in Iraq, and I want to be very specific about what that strategy is. We must look beyond the daily violence in Iraq and focus on the quiet process of political reconciliation that will produce a more stable and democratic Middle East. The stakes are high. We face a dangerous enemy that seeks to weaken our resolve. It is important that we finish the job in Iraq. I know it's difficult, but the United States has gone through difficult times before to come out on the other side with a more stable world. The enemy we face in Iraq are terrorists, terrorists who espouse the same ideology as those responsible for the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. After September 11 some will want us to grow complacent and forget about, or put the attacks off as a distant memory. But it does require patience and resolve to see this struggle through to the end. We have no option but to defeat the terrorists, and the terrorists will be defeated. I know it's hard to focus on the quiet process that is going on in Iraq of building a political consensus toward a stable and democratic Iraq. The key to success in Iraq is for the Iraqis to be able and capable of defending their democracy against terrorists, and we will not leave until Iraqi security forces are trained and equipped to keep the peace. The insurgents are very tough, and they're very bloody, and they can grab the headlines on any day. We have to keep focused, and I think the American people will. Iraq slowly gets better every day. We are well-positioned for continued success in Iraq. But we should be clear: There are long-term developmental challenges and much to be done. And Iraq's steady progress will be contested. Success for the coalition should not be defined as domestic tranquility in Iraq. Other democracies have had to contend with terrorism and insurgencies for a number of years, but they have been able to function and eventually succeed. Freedom is the birthright and deep desire of every human soul, and spreading freedom's blessings is the calling of our time. And when freedom and democracy take root in the Middle East, America and the world will be safer and more peaceful. We have a two-track strategy for winning in Iraq, the military and the political, and the way out of Iraq is to stay the course. The American people are rightly concerned about where we are in Iraq. I think we all want to see the troops come home sooner than later, and the way to get our troops home is to complete the mission.
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