It’s been more than three months since the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Iraqis have been liberated and the country is on the path to self-government and peace. The Iraqi governing council meets regularly. Local police forces are now being trained. And citizens are being recruited into a new Iraqi army that will protect the people instead of intimidating them. President George W. Bush said, “Conditions in Iraq are growing more peaceful”:
“[In] some areas, however, the violent remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime, joined by terrorists and criminals, are making a last attempt to frighten the Iraqi people and to undermine the resolve of our coalition. They will fail.”
The U.S.-led coalition is taking the fight to the enemy. Saddam Hussein’s sons Uday and Qusay, did not escape, said President Bush, “and neither will other members of that despicable regime”:
“The success of a free Iraq will also demonstrate to other countries in that region that national prosperity and dignity are found in representative government and free institutions. They are not found in tyranny, resentment, and for the support of terrorism. As freedom advances in the Middle East, those societies will be less likely to produce ideologies of hatred and produce recruits for terror.”
As President Bush said, “The rise of a free and peaceful Iraq is critical to the stability of the Middle East”:
“As the blanket of fear is lifted, as Iraqis gain confidence that the former regime is gone forever, we will gain more cooperation in our search for the truth in Iraq. We know that Saddam Hussein produced and possessed chemical and biological weapons, and has used chemical weapons. We know that. He also spent years hiding his weapons of mass destruction programs from the world. We now have teams of investigators who are hard at work to uncover the truth."
The U.S. will keep its word and complete its mission in Iraq. After decades of oppression, the people of Iraq are reclaiming their country and reclaiming their future.
