THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

(Kuwait City, Kuwait)

For Immediate Release                    January 12, 2008

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

AFTER MEETING WITH

COMMANDER OF MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ

AND AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ

Camp Arifjan Kuwait

10:05 A.M. (Local)

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning.  I just had a really good meeting with Ambassador Crocker, General Petraeus, Secretary Rice, members of my National Security team.  We discussed the situation in Iraq; we discussed the progress that's being made, the challenges that lie ahead, and we discussed the fact that what happens in Iraq impacts everything else in this vital region. 

I really appreciate you all coming over, but more importantly, I appreciate your service to the country.

One year ago, I addressed the American people to announce a new way forward in Iraq.  At that time, Iraq was riven by sectarian violence.  The violence had increased over the course of 2006, and it threatened the collapse of the political process.  Economic activity was languishing.  Al Qaeda was strengthening its grip in critical parts of Iraq, including parts of the capital city of Baghdad.  Shia extremist groups, some with the  backing from Iran, were increasing their attacks on coalition and Iraqi forces.

Our strategy simply wasn't working.  And the world was watching.  Our friends and foes had the same question:  Would we turn our back on our friends and allow Iraq to descend into chaos?  Or would we change our approach, and stand with the Iraqi people and help them take back their country from the terrorists and extremists?

We chose to support our Iraqi partners; we chose to help them protect the Iraqi people from the terrorists and radicals.  The new way forward I announced one year ago changed our approach in fundamental ways.  We sent more combat troops to Iraq.  We refocused their mission to protecting the Iraqi people, and to fighting the enemy in the strongholds and denying sanctuary anywhere in the country.  We began a diplomatic surge to cut off the networks of foreign fighters that were flowing into Iraq from Syria, and to cut the support of Shia extremists coming from Iran, and to encourage the region to give more support to the Iraqi government.  We surged civilians into Iraq to support our military efforts, doubling the number of provincial reconstruction teams, and facilitating Iraqi political reconciliation from the bottom up. 

I nominated General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker to carry out this new strategy.  This was a tough assignment for them.  And they -- and all the good men and women they're privileged to lead -- are doing an outstanding job.

Iraq is now a different place from one year ago.  Much hard work remains, but levels of violence are significantly reduced.  Hope is returning to Baghdad, and hope is returning to towns and villages throughout the country.  Iraqis who fled the violence are beginning to return and rebuild their lives.  Al Qaeda remains dangerous, and it will continue to target the innocent with violence.  But we've dealt al Qaeda in Iraq heavy blows, and it now faces a growing uprising of ordinary Iraqis who want to live peaceful lives.  Extremist militias remain a concern.  But they, too, have been disrupted, and moderates are turning on those who espouse violence.  Iran's role in fomenting violence has been exposed; Iranian agents are in our custody, and we are learning more about how Iran has supported extremist groups with training and lethal aid.

Iraqis are gradually take [sic] control of their country.  Over the past year, Iraqi forces conducted a surge of their own, generating well over 100,000 more Iraqi police and soldiers to sustain the security gains.  Tens of thousands of concerned local citizens are protecting their communities, and working with coalition and Iraqi forces to ensure al Qaeda cannot return.  The Iraqi government is distributing oil revenues across the country, so that reconstruction can follow hard-won security gains.  And from Kirkuk to Ramadi, to Karbala to Bagdad, the people of Iraq  -- Sunni, Shia, and Kurd -- are coming together at the grass roots to build a common future.

These improvements are allowing some U.S. forces to return home -- a return on success that has now begun.  One Army brigade and one Marine Expeditionary Unit have already come home, and they will not be replaced.  In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit.  Any additional reduction will be based on the recommendation of General Petraeus, and those recommendations will be based entirely on the conditions on the ground in Iraq.

The months ahead offer prospects for further progress.  Iraq's local leaders need to continue to improve conditions from the bottom up.  And Iraq's national leaders need to follow up on the successful adoption of the pension reform by passing a revised de-Baathification law and a national budget.  And the linkages between the local and national levels must be strengthened and expanded.  Iraqi security forces need to continue to grow and improve and take the fight to al Qaeda and other extremist groups.  Criminals need to be defeated in Iraqi neighborhoods.  Syria needs to further reduce the flow of terrorists to the territory, especially suicide bombers.  Iran must stop supporting the militia special groups that attack Iraqi and coalition forces, and kidnap and kill Iraqi officials.

The international community must remain engaged -- including through the third expanded ministerial meeting on Iraq, which will take place right here in Kuwait.  I had the honor last night of telling His Highness how much we appreciated the fact that Kuwait has taken the lead in hosting these meetings.

We cannot take the achievements of 2007 for granted.  We must do all we can to ensure that 2008 brings even greater progress for Iraq's young democracy.

America is going to do our part.  Long-term success in Iraq is vital to our friends here in the region -- and to America's national security.  And long-term success will require active U.S. engagement that outlasts my presidency.  So at the invitation of Iraqi leaders, we're now building an enduring relationship with Iraq.  This relationship will have diplomatic, economic, and security components -- similar to relationships we have with Kuwait and other nations in this region and around the world.  Most important, in a place where Saddam Hussein once menaced the world, the new U.S.-Iraqi relationship will strengthen a democracy that serves its people, fights terrorists, and serves as a beacon of freedom for millions across the Middle East.

 Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus will continue to carry out our policy in Iraq -- and they need to get back to Baghdad.  So I better stop talking.  I want to thank them for your service.  I want you to thank your families for how much I appreciate your sacrifices.  I also want to thank the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen, as well as the diplomats, intelligence officers, civilian employees, and contractors -- and all their families who are doing the work necessary to lay the foundation for peace. 

Thank you all for being here, and God bless you.

I'll answer a couple of questions.  I'm going ask them to lay out for a second -- hold on for a minute.

Yes.

Q    Mr. President, did you hear anything today that makes you think that you can accelerate the troop withdrawals that already talked about?

THE PRESIDENT:  General Petraeus made it clear to me that, from his perspective, that conditions on the ground will be that which guides his recommendations.  And I made it clear that's what I want.  In other words, our General has got to understand that success in Iraq is critical.  In other words, that ought to be the primary concern when it comes to determining troop levels, and no better person to ask as -- on how to achieve success in Iraq than the General in charge of Iraq. 

So that's what we discussed about -- he didn't talk about specific levels; he talked about continually assessing the situation on the ground, and will report to Congress in March.  I wanted to assure him that any decision he recommends needs to be based upon success.  That's what happened the last time around -- when we were failing, I said, what's it take to -- what do you need to win, not lose?  What is it we need to -- what troop levels do we need to make sure that we can achieve this objective? 

And a lot of people thought that I was going to recommend pulling out, or pulling back.  Quite the contrary; I recommended increasing the number of forces so they could get more in the fight, because I believe all along if people are given a chance to live in a free society, they'll do the hard work necessary to live in a free society. 

And I understand the fundamental conflict we're in.  We're in a conflict between those who want to live in peace and those who murder the innocent to achieve a hateful vision.  People say, what are you talking about, hateful vision?  Well, I said, all you got to do is look at what life was like if you were a young girl under the Taliban in Afghanistan.  These haters have no vision of hope.  They want to impose their ideology on every man, woman and child in the societies which they feel like they should dominate.  Our vision is different, and the vision of most Iraqis is different, and that is, they want to be free; they want to be able to express themselves in a free society.  And I believe if given a chance, the ordinary citizen will sacrifice for that vision every time.  But they needed the security, they needed the feeling of security in order to do so.

So it's that same principle that's going to guide my decision, and I made it clear to the General that I need to know his considered judgment about what it takes to make sure the security gains we have achieved remain in place.  And that's what the discussion was about -- besides me thanking him.

We cannot take for granted our troops overseas, and our diplomats overseas.  These folks have been gone from their home for a long time, and they miss their families.  And so one of the purposes of this trip is to make it abundantly clear to those serving our country that, one, they have earned the respect of the United States of America, and that as the President of a great country, I look forward to telling these great people how much we admire them and appreciate them.

Yes. 

Q    It sounds like you feel like you're on track for a possible drawdown.  Can you say if you feel you're on track from what you heard from General Petraeus?

THE PRESIDENT:  I think the only thing I can tell you we're on track for is to follow through on that which he recommended last September, and that we'll be on track getting down to 15.  And that's what we're on track for.  My attitude is, if he didn't want to continue the drawdown, that's fine with me, in order to make sure we succeed, see.  I said to the General, if you want to slow her down, fine; it's up to you.  And so the only thing I can tell you we're on track for is, we're doing what we said was going to happen.  One battalion is out, the Marines are out to the extent that we said they were going to come out, and then four more are coming down and be out by July, just like he recommended.

Q    What about the political benchmarks?  Do those no longer matter?

THE PRESIDENT:  Of course they matter.  They matter to the Iraqis a lot.  It's a sign of reconciliation.  I just mentioned they passed a pension law, which, of course, got a huge yawn in our press.  But that's -- well, that's okay.  (Laughter.)  We can't pass -- we can't reform our own pension system, like Social Security, but they did.  Is that the only answer?  No.  They got a lot more work to do, but they're passing law.  And they're now in the process of a budget -- getting their budget passed, and a de-Baath law.  And we expect them to work hard on the federalism issue.  Yes, that's absolutely important, benchmarks. 

Q    Are they behind where you thought they would be

-- the significant benchmarks?

THE PRESIDENT:  Are they behind -- I wouldn't say "significant."  I think that's an exaggeration of what I think.  I would say that I wish they had passed more law.  Of course, in December, I was wishing our legislature had passed more law at times, too.  But, no, they've got work to do, no question about it.  There are two types of reconciliation:  that which can be achieved by passage of national law; and the other kind is the bottom-up reconciliation, where people in neighborhoods are just -- who are sick and tired of criminality and violence, say, look, let's do something about it. 

That's -- one of the interesting things, Martha, and you follow this a lot closer than a lot of the other folks have -- not to be blowing your horn or anything but -- these concerned citizen groups -- CLCs; people who have stepped forward and said, we've had enough of this, we're sick and tired of violence.  Some 80,000 local citizens who are now helping provide local security so their children can have -- grow up in a free society and they can be peaceful.  That's what you're seeing.  And a part of the Iraqi surge was not only 100,000 additional troops and police, but local citizens coming forward and to -- helping to provide security for their neighborhoods.  And that's bottom-up reconciliation.

I'm not making excuses for a government, but to go from a tyranny to a democracy overnight is virtually impossible.  And so when you say, am I pleased with the progress -- what they have gone through and where they are today I think is good progress.  Have they done enough?  No.  Are we going to continue to work with them to do more?  Absolutely.  Absolutely.  Our message is very clear:  It's in your interest that you pass good law. 

And so I'm optimistic they'll get laws passed here pretty quick, and we'll continue to press to make it happen.

Listen, thank you very much.  I'm going to speak to the troops, and I'm looking forward to it.  Thank you.

                       END      10:21 A.M. (Local)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

(Kuwait City, Kuwait)

For Immediate Release                      January 12, 2008

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

TO MILITARY PERSONNEL AND COALITION FORCES

Camp Arifjan,Kuwait

10:38 A.M. (Local)

  THE PRESIDENT:  Hoo-ah!  (Applause.)  Yes, thanks for coming out.  (Laughter.)  It's good to see you.  Command Sergeant Major Harbin, thank you.  He's a silver-tongued fox.  (Laughter.)  Thank you for the introduction, Command Sergeant.  I'm honored to be introduced by one of our enlisted personnel.  After all, our military is strong because of the sergeant corps of the military.  (Applause.) 

I'm also proud to be with our officers.  I particularly want to thank General Lovelace for his leadership.  I'm honored to be with the brave men and women of the Third Army.  (Applause.)  I also offer greetings to the Marines -- (cheers) -- sailors -- (cheers) -- airmen -- (cheers) -- Coast Guardsmen --

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Woo-hoo!  (Laughter.) 

     THE PRESIDENT:  -- as well as all the Department of Army civilians --

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hooray!  (Laughter.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  I'm here to thank you for your service.  I want you to know the American people are mighty proud of you, and so am I.  (Applause.)  Sorry my wife isn't with me.  She was here the other day though.  She sends her best.  I'm traveling today with the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.  (Applause.)  I just had a meeting with our Ambassador and our Commander on the ground in Iraq.  I'm proud to be here with Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus. 

Since the Third Army was established at the close of World War I, its soldiers have proven themselves true to their motto, "The Third ... always first."  (Applause.)  You're the first bunch I've been talking to here on my trip -- first bunch of those wearing the uniform.  People say, you looking forward to the trip?  I said, one thing I'm really looking forward to is seeing the men and women who represent the United States in our military.  The reason I am is -- anxious to be here is because we can't thank you enough, and we can't thank your families enough for doing the hard work necessary to protect the United States of America. 

I appreciate what this Third Army did in World War II.  I hope you do too, as well.  After all, you're members of Patton's own.  Played a vital role in the destruction of the Nazi war machine.  They helped liberate about 12,000 towns; at least that's according to the history of the Third Army.  From their noble ranks came soldiers with some of our nation's highest directors* [sic], including 19 recipients of the Medal of Honor.  You are -- a distinguished history, and you're making history yourselves.  Sometimes it's hard to forecast what the history pages are going to see when you're right in the midst of it all.  Sometimes it's hard to judge how the Third Army will be talked about by future Presidents when you're in the midst of protecting the country, when you're in the midst of dealing in a dangerous region. 

But I want to tell you what the history will say.  The history will say, it was when you were called upon, you served, and the service you rendered was absolutely necessary to defeat an enemy overseas so we do not have to face them here at home.  (Applause.)  It will say loud and clear that this military, comprised of brave men and women who sacrificed on behalf of a noble cause called peace -- the men and women of this military understood that we're in an ideological struggle; that we're facing cold-blooded murderers who kill the innocent to achieve their hateful vision of a future. 

And they understood, history will show, that those who wore the uniform in the beginning of the 21st century understood a timeless truth that the ideology of -- based upon liberty is necessary for peace; that in this ideological struggle, on the short-term, we will find and bring the enemies to justice, but in the long term, the best way to defeat the ideology of hate is one with an ideology of hope, and that's one with liberty at its fundamental core.  (Applause.) 

It's hard work that you're doing, but it's necessary work.  It's hard to be away from your home, but that's a soldier's life.  When you get to emailing your family, you tell them I check in with you.  (Laughter.)  And you're looking pretty good.  (Applause.)  It looks like you haven't missed a meal.  (Laughter.)  But you also tell them that the message I brought was, they're in this fight as well.  And the citizens of the United States of America respect our military, and we respect our military families.  And this government will make sure that our families have a good life, with good support, when you're deployed overseas.

And so I thank you for what you're doing.  There is no doubt in my mind that we will succeed.  There is no doubt in my mind when history was written, the final page will say:  Victory was achieved by the United States of America for the good of the world; that by doing the hard work now, we can look back and say, the United States of America is more secure, and generations of Americans will be able to live in peace. 

  God bless you, and God bless the United States.  (Applause.) 

                         END       10:45 A.M. (Local)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

(Manama, Bahrain)

For Immediate Release                         January 12, 2008

PRESS BRIEFING

BY GENERAL PETRAEUS AND AMBASSADOR CROCKER

Camp Arifjan,Kuwait

     Q    -- (inaudible) --

     GENERAL PETRAEUS:   Let me clarify that.  The President said that -- (inaudible) -- what he said was very carefully phrased, and what it reflected is a recognition and an agreement by all who are studying this that Syria has, in fact, taken steps to reduce the flow of foreign fighters through its soil.  In fact, our estimates are that that flow may be down by about a half or so -- it obviously goes up and down a bit.  And what the President asked was -- or stated was, identify the need to do more to drive that down.  And I'll let Ambassador Crocker answer the first one. 

     AMBASSADOR CROCKER:  In terms of national reconciliation, by definition this has to be an Iraqi process.  We can push, pull, prod, and we do, but ultimately, of course, it has to be Iraqis coming together.  At the national level, there are two important pieces of legislation now in front of the parliament; one on de-Baathification reform; the other the 2008 budget.  The parliament is seriously engaged with both.  I'm not going to make a prediction when they'll be passed, but I do expect it to be fairly soon. 

     But reconciliation is more than national legislation.  It's also what we're seeing in the provinces and around the country.  There is more political activity; there is more cross-sectarian political activity.  The Vice President of Iraq, Tariq Hashemi, a Sunni, going down to Najaf to visit Ayatollah Sistani, for example; the sheiks of Karbala, Shia, traveling to Anbar to meet the Sunni sheiks of Anbar.  So, as security improves, as some of the -- as the violence and the tensions reduce, we're seeing more political activity and more steps toward reconciliation. 

     There is a long way to go.  The damage done politically and socially through the violence of 2006, first part of 2007, is considerable and it will take time to overcome that.  But we are seeing some encouraging steps now on both the national and local levels.

     Q    Obviously, part of President Bush's trip is related to the Iran issue, and I'm wondering if you're able to talk a little bit about the Iran factor inside Iraq, and what the latest is you're seeing in terms of weapons or anyone from Iran in Iraq --

     GENERAL PETRAEUS:  What we're seeing is what might be characterized as mixed signs or mixed indicators.  As I have mentioned to some of you, in recent weeks, even recent months, we saw a reduction in certain types of attacks associated with what we call the signature weapons that are provided by Iran, have historically been provided by Iran to the Quds Force, supported special groups, in particular, and other militia extremist elements.  So we saw a reduction in the very large caliper rocket attacks, RPG-29s, a certain use of MANPAD -- manned portable air defense system -- and EFPs.  However, in this year, EFP use has gone up actually, over about the last 10 days, by a factor of two or three.  And, frankly, we're trying to determine why that might be. 

     Beyond that, of course, Iran's senior-most leaders promised Iraq's senior-most leaders that they would stop the funding, arming, training and directing of militia extremists and other elements in Iraq that were creating security challenges.  And we are waiting, frankly, to see that carried out -- made operationalized by all of the different elements of Iran, because there clearly has been training that has continued until recently.  We have detained some individuals that have -- that were members of the special groups and were trained in Iran fairly recently. 

     And so, again, we're trying to determine from all of these different indicators what is -- in fact, is there a coherent policy shift, if you will -- and that is hard to determine right now -- or what else is going on.  And, of course, the Ambassador's team, and actually, an MNFI rep will meet with them we think here in a bit, and I'll let the Ambassador talk a bit about the possible upcoming talks. 

     AMBASSADOR CROCKER:  We have told the Iraqis, since they extended the invitation, and the Iranians, that we're ready to sit down now.  We're waiting on Tehran to decide when they want to sit down.

     Q    General, could you give us a readout of Operation Phantom Phoenix?  General Hertling had said that he was hoping that this could be the beginning of the last push against al Qaeda in Iraq.  Is that a realistic way to look at this?

     GENERAL PETRAEUS:  Well, first of all, Phantom Phoenix is, in a sense, an umbrella name for a series of offensive operations being carried out against al Qaeda in several different division areas.  And you've seen some of those start already, and there will be some others that will follow.

     You have obviously followed fairly closely a very substantial operation to the west of Muqtadiyah, in the Northeastern end of the Diyala River Valley, to clear and then hold an area that had been a safe haven.  We'd actually been in and out of there a number of times in recent months, conducting very substantial raids and other operations.  But this is one to go in with four coalition battalions, substantial special operations complement, and a number of Iraqi units, to really clear it from one end to the other, and then to hold it, as was done, say, with Baquba and, of course, Anbar and Baghdad neighborhoods, and so forth. 

     You also saw the report of the operation that was to the south of Arab Jabour, south of Baghdad, about not quite 15 kilometers along the river, an area that had a very high number of improvised explosive devices and other weapons caches, in an area from which the population was -- had already left, and we alerted them, anybody left, before we bombed it.  And there will be other operations, again, as well, as you would imagine.  We have said that we intend to pursue al Qaeda tenaciously, and that is exactly what we intend to do and what we plan to do.

     That will continue.  I don't know whether a characterization of the final push, or something like that, that would probably be pretty mature, but it is certainly the initial stages of a very substantial continuing offensive against al Qaeda, now that we have all the forces that have been adjusted in recent months.  As you know, not only did we take out the brigade combat team and the Marine Expeditionary Unit, we've also cycled through and replaced a very substantial number of the brigades and divisions on the ground, including General Hertling's headquarters and that in Baghdad. 

     Q    General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, the President in his remarks seemed to refer -- when he referred to communications that were ongoing with Iraqi leaders about the status of U.S. forces, comparing it to what would have been agreed to with Kuwaiti leaders -- is there a status of forces agreement that is imminent, and if so, can you tell us anything about it and the time frame?

     And, General Petraeus, I was also wondering, do you think that there's any possibility at this point of reducing U.S. forces beyond the additional five brigades that you had laid out and the President referred to?

     AMBASSADOR CROCKER:  As you know, coalition forces have been operating in Iraq under authorities from a United Nations Security Council resolution.  That resolution was renewed in December for 2008.  At the time, the Iraqis made clear, and we supported them, that they want this to be the last U.N. Security Council resolution.  Our mutual intention is -- and this was laid out in a declaration in November -- is in the course of 2008 to negotiate a long-term strategic partnership that obviously will include the equivalent of a status of forces agreement.

     We're putting our team together now, making preparations in Washington.  The Iraqis are doing the same.  And in the few weeks ahead, we would expect to get together to start this negotiating process.

     GENERAL PETRAEUS:  As to the possibility of reducing beyond the five brigade combat teams, the two Marine battalions and the Marine Expeditionary Unit that will be withdrawn by the end of July, certainly there is a possibility of that.  And what we are working on, though, is determining recommendations on the timing and the pace of that, keeping in mind that we still have quite a bit of the reduction to do, and, as the President mentioned, this will be clearly conditions-based -- conditions in Iraq.

     We are right now, with our planners, with General Odierno and his team, looking at various scenarios:  one, that the situation continues to get better even as we draw down our forces, albeit as the Iraqis continue to ramp up theirs, by the way.  The President mentioned that over 100,000 Iraqi police and soldiers were added this past year; 80,000 concerned local citizens have joined the fight.  And just between now and July alone, they're going to add another two divisional headquarters, five brigade headquarters and 12 battalions.  So that's just on the army side.  That's a substantial increase that they will continue, and that is on track.

     But again, one scenario, things get better even as we begin the drawdown of coalition forces.  Another one is they stay about the same even as we draw down, and then another one is that they get worse.  And what we're looking at is, particularly for the first two, what might the timing and options be once we've gotten down to that 15 brigade threshold again, and what would the pace of that be?  But no early predictions at all; we literally are just looking at it now and examining it and doing again this so-called tactical geometry, if you will, that looks at where would it be, how would it work, what do the various conditions that have to obtain look like?  And that's the way we're going forward.

     And we're going to continue to play with this, if you will.  We literally meet a couple of times a week and keep working this along, developing the intellectual construct that will be the underpinning for the recommendations that are made through the chain of command to the President in March, and then report on to Congress.

     Q    A question for Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus. Ambassador Crocker, can you just address, on Iran, your assessment of whether they have made a decision?  General Petraeus addressed that; I'm just curious about your assessment about whether they have indeed made a tactical decision to kind of pull back in Iraq. 

     And then for General Petraeus, I was wondering if you could give us a little bit more of a readout of your meeting with the President.  What did you tell him about the road ahead?  Did you talk at all about the concept that you talked about in September of trying to get to an over-watch, and how -- are we getting quicker to that condition than maybe you had indicated in September?

     AMBASSADOR CROCKER:  As we've noted, we've seen a decline in some types of attacks that have been associated with Iranian munitions or training, but as General Petraeus just noted, in the last 10 days we've also seen an increase in EFP attacks.  I would repeat what I've said before:  From the empirical data, I cannot draw any conclusion that the Iranians have made a fundamental shift in their approach to Iraq, away from supporting extremist militant groups that are attacking our forces and also attacks Iraqis, and toward their stated position of support for the Iraqi government and stability in Iraq.  That is what we hope they will do, but I certainly haven't seen the evidence that that is what they are doing.

     GENERAL PETRAEUS:  Well, what we talked about with the President -- a bit of a review of what took place in 2007 and what we believe were the elements that have lead to the reduction in violence in Iraq; as you know, attack levels down by some 60 percent or so, the reduction in civilian deaths about the same, and so on.  And so we talked about some of those trends; discussed the actions that have been taken against al Qaeda Iraq and other associated insurgency elements, and some of the plans for the future; talked about some of the militia extremist activities and, again, discussed these somewhat conflicting signals that we have seen -- if, indeed, they are signals -- or at least indicators that we have seen with respect to Iranian involvement; and then did talk about the process that I just explained, that we've begun to analyze the possible alternatives and to look at the possibility for reductions beyond the reduction of 15 brigades in July. 

     He did reaffirm there, as well, the imperative of our recommendations being based on conditions in Iraq, and we again discussed these different alternative futures, but without any numbers attached, frankly, or any possible horizons out there.

     Thank you very much.

                               END

General David Petraeus’s End Of Year Letter To The Troops

"A Great Deal Has Been Achieved In 2007"

28 December 2007

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Civilians of Multi-National Force-Iraq:

As 2007 draws to a close, you should look back with pride on what you, your fellow troopers, our Iraqi partners, and Iraqi Coalition civilians have achieved in 2007. A year ago, Iraq was racked by horrific violence and on the brink of civil war. Now, levels of violence and civilians and military casualties are significantly reduced and hope has been rekindled in many Iraqi communities. To be sure, the progress is reversible and there is much more to be done. Nonetheless, the hard-fought accomplishments of 2007 have been substantial, and I want to thank each of you for the contributions you made to them.

In response to the challenges that faced Iraq a year ago, we and our Iraqi partners adopted a new approach. We increased our focus on securing the Iraqi people and, in some cases, delayed transition of tasks to Iraqi forces. Additional U.S. and Georgian forces were deployed to theater, the tours of U.S. unites were extended, and Iraqi forces conducted a surge of their own, generating well over 100,000 more Iraqi police and soldiers during the year so that they, too, had additional forces to execute the new approach. In places like Ramadi, Baqubah, Arab Jabour, and Baghdad, you and our Iraqi brothers fought—often house by house, block by block, and neighborhood by neighborhood—to wrest sanctuaries away from Al Qaeda-Iraq, to disrupt extremist militia elements, and to rid the streets of mafia-like criminals. Having cleared areas, you worked with Iraqis to retain them—establishing outposts in the areas we were securing, developing Iraqi Security Forces, and empowering locals to help our efforts. This approach has not been easy. It has required steadfastness in the conduct of tough offensive operations, creative solutions to the myriad problems on the ground, and persistence over the course of many months and during countless trying situations. Through it all, you have proven equal to every task, continually demonstrating an impressive ability to conduct combat and stability operations in an exceedingly complex environment.

Your accomplishments have given the Iraqi people new confidence and prompted many citizens to reject terror and confront those who practice it. As the months passed in 2007, in fact, the tribal awakening that began in Al Anbar Province spread to other parts of the country. Emboldened by improving security and tired of indiscriminate violence, extremist ideology, oppressive practices, and criminal activity, Iraqis increasingly rejected Al Qaeda-Iraq and rogue militia elements. Over time, the desire of Iraqis to contribute to their own security has manifested itself in citizens volunteering for the police, the Army, and concerned local citizen programs. It has been reflected in citizens providing information that has helped us find far more than double the number of arms and weapons caches we found last year. And it has been apparent in Iraqi communities now supporting their local security forces.

As a result of your hard work and that of our Iraqi comrades-in-arms—and with the support of the local populace in many areas—we have seen significant improvements in the security situation. The number of attacks per week is down some 60 percent from a peak in June of this year to a level last seen consistently in the early summer of 2005. With fewer attacks, we are also seeing significantly reduced loss of life. The number of civilian deaths is down by some 75 percent since its height a year ago, dropping to a level not seen since the beginning of 2006. And the number of Coalition losses is down substantially as well. We remain mindful that the past year’s progress has been purchased through the sacrifice and selfless service of all those involved and that the new Iraq must still contend with innumerable enemies and obstacles. Al Qaeda-Iraq has been significantly degraded, but it remains capable of horrific bombings. Militia extremists have been disrupted, but they retain influence in many areas. Criminals have been apprehended, but far too many still roam Iraqi streets and intimidate local citizens and Iraqi officials. We and our Iraqi partners will have to deal with each of these challenges in the New Year to keep the situation headed in the right direction.

While the progress in a number of areas is fragile, the security improvements have significantly changed the situation in many parts of Iraq. It is now imperative that we take advantage of these improvements by looking beyond the security arena and helping Iraqi military and political leaders as they develop solutions in other areas as well, solutions they can sustain over time. At the tactical level, this means an increasing focus on helping not just Iraqi Security Forces—with whom we must partner in all that we do—but also helping Iraqi governmental organizations as they endeavor to restore basic services, to create employment opportunities, to revitalize local markets, to refurbish schools, to spur local economic activity, and to keep locals involved in contributing to local security. We will have to do all of this, of course, while continuing to draw down our forces, thinning our presence, and gradually handing over responsibilities to our Iraqi partners. Meanwhile, at the national level, we will focus on helping the Iraqi Government integrate local volunteers into the Iraqi Security Forces and other employment, develop greater ministerial capacity and capability, aid displaced persons as they return, and, most importantly, take the all-important political and economic actions needed to exploit the opportunity provided by the gains in the security arena.

The pace of progress on important political actions to this point has been slower than Iraqi leaders had hoped. Still, there have been some important steps taken in recent months. Iraq’s leaders reached agreement on the Declaration of Principles for Friendship and Cooperation with the United States, which lays the groundwork for an enduring relationship between our nations. The United Nations Security Council approved Iraq’s request for a final renewal of the resolution that authorizes the Coalition to operate in Iraq. Iraq’s leaders passed an important Pension Law that not only extends retirement benefits to Iraqis previously left out but also represents the first of what we hope will be additional measures fostering national reconciliation. And Iraq’s leaders have debated at length a second reconciliation-related measure, the Accountability and Justice Bill (the de-Ba’athification Reform Law), as well as the 2008 National Budget, both which likely will be brought up for a vote in early 2008. Even so, all Iraqi participants recognize that much more must be done politically to put their country on an irreversible trajectory to national reconciliation and sustainable economic development. We will, needless to say, work closely with our Embassy teammates to support the Iraq Government as it strives to take advantage of the improved security environment by pursing political and economic progress.

The New Year will bring many changes. Substantial force rotations and adjustments already underway will continue. One Army brigade combat team and a Marine Expeditionary Unit have already redeployed without replacement. In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit. Throughout that time, we will continue to adapt to the security situation as it evolves. And in the midst of all the changes, we and our Iraqi partners will strive to maintain the momentum, to press the fight, and to pursue Iraq’s enemies relentlessly. Solutions to many of the tough problems will continue to be found at your level, together with local Iraqi leaders and with your Iraqi Security Force partners, in company and battalion areas of operation and in individual neighborhoods an towns. As you and your Iraqi partners turn concepts into reality, additional progress will emerge slowly and fitfully. Over time, we will gradually see fewer bad days and accumulate more good days, good weeks, and good months.

The way ahead will not be easy. Inevitably, there will be more tough days and tough weeks. Unforeseen challenges will emerge. And success will require continued hard work, commitment, and initiative from all involved. As we look to the future, however, we should remember how far we have come in the past year. Thanks to the tireless efforts and courageous actions of the Iraqi people, Iraq’s political and military leaders, the Iraqi Security Forces, and each of you, a great deal has been achieved in 2007. Thus, as we enter a new year, we and our Iraqi partners will have important accomplishments and a newfound sense of hope on which we can build.

As always, all or your leaders, our fellow citizens back home, and I deeply appreciate the dedication, professionalism, commitment, and courage you display on a daily basis. It remains the greatest of honors to serve with each of you in this critical endeavor.

Sincerely,

David H. Petraeus

General, United State Army

Commanding