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For Immediate Release
March 6, 2004
President's Radio Address
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week terrorists launched a
series of attacks in Iraq, targeting religious sites in Baghdad and
Karbala, during commemorations marking the Shia holy day of Ashoura.
Laura and I and the American people were filled with grief and anger at
these terrible acts of murder, which took the lives of dozens of
innocent Iraqis.
Some of these killers behind these attacks are supporters of
Saddams former regime. Others are foreign terrorists. All of them are
determined to halt and reverse all progress toward freedom in Iraq.
One of the terrorist leaders, a killer named Zarqawi, recently wrote to
a senior al Qaeda terrorist of his plan to tear Iraq apart with ethnic
violence, to undermine Iraqi security forces, to demoralize our
coalition, and to prevent the rise of a sovereign, democratic
government. The killers strategy will fail.
Immediately after the attacks, the world saw members of Iraqs
Governing Council and other Iraqis quickly condemn the bombings, and
voice their determination that their country will be peaceful and
free. The Iraqi people refuse to live in fear, and so do the members
of our coalition. Fighting alongside the people of Iraq, we will
defeat the terrorists who seek to plunge Iraq into chaos and violence,
and we will stand with the people of Iraq for as long as necessary to
build a stable, peaceful and successful democracy.
The Iraqi people are making excellent progress. Members of the
Governing Council are having a free and open and spirited debate as
they complete a new framework for governing their nation. This
transitional administrative law will result in protecting the rights of
all Iraqis, and will move the country toward a democratic future.
A year ago, Iraqs only law was the whim of one brutal man. When
the new law takes effect, Iraqis will, for the first time in decades,
live under the clear protections of a written bill of rights. Under
this law, all Iraqis will be treated equally. No religious or ethnic
groups will be favored, and none will suffer discrimination at the
hands of the state.
The law will protect the rights of free speech and peaceful
assembly, the right to organize political parties, the right to vote in
fair elections, and the right to worship according to ones own
conscience. The law also will guarantee the right to a speedy, fair
and open trial. No Iraqi will ever again have to fear the midnight
knock of the secret police.
The transitional administrative law will establish a clear path for
the transition to full Iraqi sovereignty on June 30th of this year.
Our coalition of 34 countries and the United Nations will continue to
work closely with the Iraqi people as they progress toward this goal.
The law calls for the election of a transitional national assembly
by January 31, 2005. Later that year, this assembly will draft a new
constitution to be ratified by the Iraqi people. And by the end of
next year, the Iraqi people will elect a parliament and establish a
government that is fully representative and truly free.
Difficult work in creating a new Iraqi government remains. Yet
Iraqis are equal to the tasks before them. The Iraqi people have shown
the world that they are fully capable of living in freedom.
Thank you for listening.
END
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