The militias are an issue that the next government will have to deal with. Iraq needs a strong national army, a strong national police. It needs weapons in the hands of those who are authorized to have them. |
The national unity government will need to implement a program that brings all Iraqis together, builds a happy future for the people of Iraq, and gets Iraq to stand on its own feet. |
The neighbors can make it harder. It can take longer. But success is inevitable. This country has the resources to become a very rich and powerful country. It behooves the neighbors of Iraq to help. |
The past is finished, |
The reaction that's needed by the Iraqis -- they need to come together. |
The security ministries have to be run by people who are not associated with militias and who are not regarded as sectarian. The issue is how forces that we're investing a huge amount of money in are perceived by the Iraqis. If they are perceived as sectarian, their effectiveness will not be there. We have insisted on this, stated it clearly. These two ministries need people who are acceptable to all parties of a national unity government. ... We are saying: If you choose the wrong candidates, that will affect U.S. aid. |
The terrorists are seeking to provoke sectarian war, and Iraq needs a government of national unity in the face of this threat. Iraq is bleeding while they are moving at a very slow pace. |
The terrorists who seek to murder innocent people who worship at Iraq's holy sites and religious institutions are the enemies of all faiths and of all humanity. The United States condemns this cowardly act in the strongest possible terms. |
The U.S. and Iraq will work together next year to shift Iraqi resources from unproductive subsidies to productive uses that enable Iraqis to earn livelihoods. |
There are issues that the Iraqis have to deal and come to terms with, like federalism, the role of religion, resources, rights of women. |
There is movement across its borders of people and matériel used in violent acts against Iraq. |
They are making great progress. They have reached agreement on almost all of the key issues. There is one or two issues left. They are working very hard. They tell me they are optimistic, but we will have to wait and see until tomorrow. |
They simply have to come to an agreement with each other. |
They want to intensify violence; they want to, on occasion, cause civil strife and civil war in Iraq. Iraqis want to succeed like people everywhere. |
Things are getting better. The Iraqis came to the brink of civil war as a result of the attack on the shrine ... The Iraqi leadership came together and rose to the occasion and that's a good thing. |