Iraq President on US troops.
Iraqi President Jalal Talibani writes: (*)
American forces are in Iraq at the invitation of the democratically elected government of Iraq, and with the backing of a United Nations Security Council resolution. Your soldiers are in my country because of your commitment to democracy. Moreover, [there is the] United States’ complete support for the Iraqi political process toward sustainable democracy, and for the fight to defeat fascist and jihadist terrorism in Iraq.
That commitment to liberty has shaped our opposition to any timetable for withdrawal. There are also two practical, policy reasons to avoid such a scheduled reduction in foreign troop numbers. First, a timetable will aid the terrorists and tell them that all they have to do is wait. Second, military plans must be flexible. We should have the suppleness to respond to the often-changing level of terrorist threat. Indeed, we will require ongoing security assistance in many forms for many years to come.
If we keep progressing at the present rate, Iraqis may be able to take over many security functions from foreign forces by the end of 2006. That is not a deadline, but it is reasonable aspiration. . . .
Americans should be proud of what its soldiers have achieved. The presence of foreign forces has prevented a renewed civil war in Iraq–renewed because there has already been a civil war in Iraq. For 35 years, Saddam and his Baath Party made war on the Iraqi people. The liberation of Iraq ended that civil war. . . .
While the problem of some of our neighbors supporting terrorism is bad enough, we can only imagine what our neighbors might have done if American troops had not been present. Most likely, Iraq would have been transformed into a regional battlefield with disastrous consequences for Middle Eastern and global security.
Without American forces, the vision of American leadership and the quiet fortitude of the American people, Iraqis would be almost alone in the world.
(emphasis added) Let me summarize why we are staying to finish the job in Iraq.
America remains in Iraq because our friends, the Iraqi people, would otherwise face all-out war, jihad, and repression at least as repugnant as that under Saddam.
We are there because Iraqis are our friends and our friends are in need.
Additionally, by helping to cultivate a peaceful and stable Iraq, we cultivate a peaceful and stable Middle East, and a peaceful and stable world.
This is our noble cause in Iraq.
God bless our troops over there, and around the world.