http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-04-2006/0004333522&EDATE=WASHINGTON, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of
remarks by President Bush after meeting on health care initiatives:
The Roosevelt Room
10:19 A.M. EST
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And so I sent Secretary Rice to Iraq with that message. And the message
is, is that the people of Iraq have voted, and now it's time for the elected
leaders to stand up and do their job. So we look forward to working with them
to put together a unity government, a government that will reject the
sectarian violence, will reject the militias, reject Zarqawi and the
terrorists that are trying to create enough chaos so that America loses nerve.
And I'm not going to lose my nerve as the President, because we're doing the
right thing in establishing a democracy in that country. And by establishing a
democracy, we're laying the foundation for peace.
And that's what we want. We want there to be peace. We want our children
not to have to grow up under the threat of violence coming out of the Middle
East. And one of the lessons of September the 11th, 2001, is that this sense
of -- that tyranny is okay, but underneath the surface there was resentment.
And the way -- and anger, that became the breeding grounds for these killers.
And the best way to defeat that is with the light and hope of democracy. And
you bet it's tough in Iraq. And it's tough because people are trying to stop
the advance of democracy. And I'm convinced we're making progress there. But I
do urge the folks on the ground to get that unity government in place, so that
the Iraqi people have confidence in their future.