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President Bush Visits Dayton, Ohio, Discusses Global War on Terror
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. (Applause.) General Metcalf, thanks, thanks for welcoming me back here. I am really pleased to be back to Wright-Patt, and it's great to be on the inside of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, which is a fabulous place. I hope our fellow citizens come and see it. It is a great tribute to the airmen who've flown the missions and secured the skies, and defended America's freedom.
I want to thank the folks who maintain this shrine. I thank you for giving me a place to park Air Force One. (Laughter.) And I appreciate the hospitality of the people who serve our country here at Wright-Patt. And I want to thank you for coming to give me a chance to share with you an update on the historic work our nation is undertaking in Iraq.
Over the past year, we have seen significant security gains result from the surge. Less visible are the political and economic changes taking place -- from major pieces of legislation being passed to simple signs of normalcy. This progress isn't glamorous, but it is important. And that's what I'm here to talk about today.
But before I do so, I want to thank not only General Metcalf, but I want to thank Congressman Jim Jordan for serving our country. (Applause.) I appreciate the State Auditor, Mary Taylor, for joining us today. Thank you for coming. (Applause.) I am grateful that the Mayor, Mayor McLin, took time to come by and say hello. Madam Mayor, thank you very much for your -- (applause.) Appreciate the other state and local officials.
I do want to thank General Bruce Carlson, Commander of the Air Force Materiel Command; Colonel Colleen Ryan; and all those wear the uniform. I'm proud to be with you, and I'm proud to be your Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)
I thank very much the fact that Susan Kettering came, Vice President of the Kettering Family Foundation. And the reason why she's important, and the foundation is important, is they've been strong supporters of this museum.
And finally, I want to recognize Amanda Wright-Lane, great grand-niece of Orville and Wilbur Wright. (Applause.) Thanks for coming. Nothing wrong with having famous relatives. (Laughter.)
This museum pays tribute to a -- to great aircraft and great airmen and women -- from the first fliers of The Great War, to the aces of World War II, to the daring pilots of Korea and Vietnam. And over the past six years, a new generation of American airmen and women have joined that storied history. After all, the Air Force was critical in liberating the people of Afghanistan, and the people of Iraq, and taking the fight to the enemy overseas so we do not have to face them here at home. On a fateful day in this war, airmen delivered justice to the al Qaeda terrorist Zarqawi, in the form of two precision-guided, 500-pound bombs. (Applause.)
The military achievements in Iraq have been accompanied by a political transformation. It can feel like distant history, but it was only five years ago that Iraq was one of the most brutal dictatorships on Earth -- a totalitarian nightmare where any election was a sham, and dissenters often found themselves buried in mass graves. In a matter of 15 months, the Iraqi people reclaimed their sovereignty. They went on to choose an interim government, and to ratify the most democratic constitution in the Arab world. And in December 2005, 12 million Iraqis elected a government under that constitution -- a display of courage that defied the terrorists, disproved the critics, and should always inspire the world.
Tragically, the progress threatened to unravel in 2006. The new government Iraqis elected took months to form. In the meantime, a terrorist attack on a Shia shrine in Samarra drove sectarian tensions past the breaking point. Sunni extremists, including al Qaeda terrorists, and Shia extremists, some backed by Iran, slaughtered innocent Iraqis in brutal attacks and reprisal killings. And across the country, political and economic activity was set back.
We took a hard look at the situation, and responded with the surge. This dramatic shift in policy had two primary goals. The first was to improve security conditions. So I ordered 30,000 additional soldiers and Marines into Iraq, and gave them a new mission, to focus on protecting the Iraqi people, and to hold the gains that had been made.
The other goal of the surge was to open up space for political and economic progress after security returned. So we deployed additional civilian experts and more than doubled the number of Provincial Reconstruction Teams, with a mission to ensure that security gains were followed up by improvements in daily life.
General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will provide more details about the progress of the surge when they testify before Congress early next month. But this much is clear: The surge is doing what it was designed to do. It's helping Iraqis reclaim security and restart political and economic life. It is bringing America closer to a key strategic victory in the war against these extremists and radicals.
On the security side, the surge has brought important gains, which I discussed in detail last week in a speech at the Pentagon. In Baghdad, we've worked with Iraqi security forces to greatly diminish the sectarian violence and civilian deaths. We've broken the grip of al Qaida on the capital. We've weakened the influence of Iranian-backed militias. We've dramatically improved security conditions in many devastated neighborhoods in what some have deemed a "re-liberation."
In Anbar Province -- which 18 months ago was declared "lost" to al Qaeda -- we joined with the brave local sheiks who launched the first large-scale Arab uprising against al Qaeda. Together, we've systematically dismantled al Qaeda in that province. In just over a year, Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, has seen its average number of attacks plummet from more than 18 per day to less than one per week. It's becoming clear that Anbar has not been lost to al Qaeda -- that al Qaeda has been -- has lost Anbar. And that's important, because this is the place where al Qaeda leadership has said they will find safe haven from which to launch further attacks against the United States of America.
In other parts of Iraq -- from Baghdad belts to Diyala province to parts of the south -- we've worked with coalition and Iraqi forces to drive terrorists out of strongholds and put them on the run. Now al Qaeda has concentrated its efforts in the area of Mosul, which is in northern Iraq. And there's going to be tough fighting in Mosul, and in areas around Mosul, in the weeks and months. But we are determined, along with the Iraqis, to make sure al Qaeda meets the same fate there that it has met elsewhere in Iraq. (Applause.)
A key factor in these security gains has been new cooperation from the Iraqi people. Ordinary Iraqis have come forward with intelligence tips. Citizens who were once hostile to the coalition have switched sides and are now joining with us. Over the past year, more than 100,000 Iraqis have joined their nation's security forces. In other words, there was an Iraqi surge to match our own. These Iraqis are fighting and sacrificing for their country. They want to live in a free society. Iraqi mothers want their children to grow up in peace, just like American mothers do. (Applause.)
The Iraqi forces are growing in capability. Recently, they planned and executed a highly effective operation to secure nearly nine million pilgrims celebrating the religious holiday of Arbaeen. And as we speak, Iraqi security forces are waging a tough battle against militia fighters and criminals in Basra -- many of whom have received arms and training and funding from Iran.
Prime Minister Maliki's bold decision -- and it was a bold decision -- to go after the illegal groups in Basra shows his leadership, and his commitment to enforce the law in an even-handed manner. It also shows the progress the Iraqi security forces have made during the surge. Iraqi forces planned this operation and they deployed substantial extra forces for it. They're leading the operation. Prime Minister Maliki has traveled to Basra to oversee it firsthand.
This offensive builds on the security gains of the surge, and demonstrates to the Iraqi people that their government is committed to protecting them. There's a strong commitment by the central government of Iraq to say that no one is above the law. This operation is going to take some time to complete, and the enemy will try to fill the TV screens with violence. But the ultimate result will be this: Terrorists and extremists in Iraq will know they have no place in a free and democratic society. (Applause.)
The surge is yielding major changes in Iraqi political life. And that is important. Before the surge, politics at every level was shutting down. And for leaders, security crises prevented the routine conduct of government. And for ordinary citizens, politics were a distant concern. I mean, after all, they were simply trying to keep their families alive. And for all Iraqis, the violence hardened sectarian attitudes and made tough political compromises impossible.
A year later, one year later, after we sent additional troops into Iraq, the situation has changed markedly. With security improving, local citizens have restarted the political process in their neighborhoods and cities and provinces. Let me give you an example. In Ramadi, tribal sheiks who led the uprising against al Qaeda are now leading a revival of politics. With the support of our PRTs, Ramadi now has a fully-staffed mayor's office, and neighborhood councils have formed. Judges are presiding over courts and restoring the rule of law.
As the news of the success in Anbar has spread, similar grassroots movements have sprung up all around the country. Today, some 90,000 Iraqis belong to local citizens group bearing the proud name "Sons of Iraq." Many of these groups are Sunnis; some are Shia; some are mixed. But whatever their makeup, these groups of citizens are determined to protect their communities, they are determined to fight extremism, and they increasingly participate in civic life. In other words, people have stepped up and said, we're sick and tired of our families having to live in violence. We can't stand the thought of people who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives, and we intend to do something about it. And they have. (Applause.)
And the central government is beginning to respond to these Sons of Iraq. And it's not easy. I mean, after all, some of them were former regime members or former insurgents. Yet the Iraqi government has pledged to incorporate about 20 to 30 percent of the Sons of Iraq into the Iraqi army and police forces. For the rest, the national government has now committed $196 million to fund jobs programs -- so that brave Iraqis who stand up to the extremists and the murders and the criminals can learn the skills they need to help build a free and prosperous nation.
The Sons of Iraq movement is only one element of the bottom-up political process. You know, sometimes it requires grassroots politics to get the folks in central government to respond. (Applause.) Sometimes that happens in our own country. (Laughter.) But it's happening in Iraq.
