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WASHINGTON D.C. (January 15, 2008) - Iraq is entering a "time of
hope," as its citizens' continue to step forward, Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice during a previously unannounced trip to
Baghdad today.
Rice, who is traveling with President Bush on his trip to the
Middle East, broke off from the party in Saudi Arabia for meetings
with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Mahmud Zebari in Baghdad.
President Bush said during a media availability in Riyadh that
Rice's trip was to encourage Iraqi leaders to continue to make
political progress.
"It seemed to make sense that she ... go and sit down with the
leaders and encourage them to continue making progress," the
president said.
The Iraqi legislature had passed a de-Baathification law to make
it easier for some members of the country's former regime to work
with the new government, and is working on revenue-sharing as well
as hydrocarbon and election laws.
"I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I should stop by,"
Rice said during a news conference in Baghdad with Zebari.
Rice said that at every stop the president has made during his
trip, he has been asked about the situation in Iraq.
The president "has talked about the importance that Iraq's
neighbors support a democratic and unified Iraq," Rice said. "The
efforts that are being made here toward democracy and
reconciliation are critical, not just for the future of Iraq, but
for the future of the region and indeed for the future of the
world."
Rice said the current plan to redeploy four brigades of U.S.
soldiers back to the United States by the summer still stands. A
fifth brigade combat team already has redeployed. What happens to
U.S. troop levels in Iraq after that will depend on progress on the
ground, she said.
The president's decision will be based on advice from commanders
after the situation is "assessed in real terms," Rice said. The
assessment will include the capabilities of the Iraqi forces and
the capabilities of the enemy.
"The president is going to make those decisions based on what is
needed to continue the progress that has been seen," she said. "But
he has said that he believes we are on track for the initial
drawdown that (Army) General (David H.) Petraeus talked about back
in Washington. Anything further he'll have to look at."
Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, made his
recommendations in a September report to Congress.
The president's Middle East trip is happening at a time of hope
in Iraq, Rice said. Security progress is the most noticeable, "but
I must say from the time that I was here a month ago, I've seen
also progress on the political front, particularly in the
reconciliation that the Iraqi people themselves are carrying out at
the grassroots (level)," she said. "You are seeing citizens emerge
who are determined to fight the extremists, the terrorists, the
foreign fighters who have been a scourge to this country and have
endangered the lives of Iraqis and stability of this country."
As the citizens are fighting back and taking control, Iraqi
provincial leadership is emerging and moving forward, she said. "I
also have had discussions with the national leadership during my
time here, and there seems to be a spirit of cooperation to move
forward on the national front as well," she said.
Iraqi and U.S. leaders are working on a long-term treaty between
the two nations, Rice and Zebari said.
"Until we are able to stand on our feet, the United States is a
strategic and strong ally to Iraq," Zebari said through a
translator. "The United States has similar agreements with other
Arab states."
The secretary noted that the United States has been an important
stabilizing force in the Middle East and Persian Gulf for decades.
"We look forward to a relationship with Iraq for the long term that
would be befitting of friends that have sacrificed together to
bring into being this democratic Iraq, and to contributing to the
stability of Iraq and the stability of this whole region," she
said.
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