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 Home > News & Policies > June 2003

Renewal in Iraq

For Immediate Release
June 23, 2003

Global Message

KEY POINTS

From the President's Radio Address, 6/21/03

  • In the 10 weeks since the fall of the Iraqi regime, the United States has focused its work in Iraq on making the country secure for its citizens and our military, improving the lives of the Iraqi people.

  • Securing Iraq is important for both Iraqi citizens and our forces, who face a continuing risk of danger from pockets of the old regime.

  • In Baghdad, more than 28,000 American combat forces and military police are enforcing the law and arresting criminals.

  • We continue to pursue Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. Military and intelligence officials are interviewing scientists who know of the weapons programs. For more than a decade, Saddam Hussein went to great lengths to hide his weapons from the world.

  • We are determined to discover the true extent of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs, no matter how long it takes.

  • The United States has provided Iraq with more than $700 million in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance.

  • Iraq's long-term success also depends on its economic development. We've established a $100 million fund to pay Iraqis who repair buildings and utilities.

  • Billions of dollars taken from the Iraqi people by a corrupt regime have been recovered and will be spent on reconstruction.

  • Iraq will soon be open to the world. Over time, a free government in Iraq will show that liberty can flourish in the region.

  • American soldiers continue to risk their lives to ensure Iraq's liberation. The President is grateful and so are the Iraqi people.