Transcript: Bush Remarks on New Iraqi Government

Transcript: Today, President Bush responded to the appointment of a new Iraqi interim government and fielded questions regarding future Iraqi independence.

SPEAKER: George W. Bush, President of the United States.

BUSH: Good morning.

Today in Baghdad, U.N. Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced the members of Iraq's new interim government.

Consulting with hundreds of Iraqis from a variety of backgrounds, Mr. Brahimi has recommended a team that possesses the talent, the commitment and the resolve to guide Iraq through the challenges that lie ahead.

On June 30th, this interim government will assume full sovereignty and will oversee all ministries and all functions of the Iraqi state. Those ministries will report to Prime Minister Allawi, who will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Iraq's interim government.

Dr. Allawi is a strong leader. He endured exile for decades and survived assassination attempts by Saddam's regime. He was trained as a physician, has worked as a businessman, and has always been an Iraqi patriot.

Prime Minister Allawi and Mr. Brahimi announced Iraq's interim president, Ghazi al-Yawer, an engineer from northern Iraq. They also announced two deputy presidents: Dr. Ibrahim Jaafari, who is a physician born in Karbala, and Dr. Rowsch Shaways, a prominent political and military leader who also has been a long-time opponent of Saddam's tyranny.

The new 33-member cabinet announced today reflects new leadership drawn from a broad cross-section of Iraqis. Five are regional officials, six are women, and the vast majority of government ministries will have new ministers.

The foremost task of this new interim government will be to prepare Iraq for a national election no later than January of next year, and to work with our coalition to provide the security that will make that election possible.

That election will choose a transitional national assembly, the first freely elected, truly representative national governing body in Iraq's history.

BUSH: Earlier today, I spoke to Secretary General Kofi Annan. I congratulated him on the U.N.'s role in forming this new government. We also discussed the preparation for national elections, and our common work on a new Security Council resolution that will express international support for Iraq's interim government, reaffirm the world's security commitment to the Iraqi people, and encourage other U.N. members to join in the effort of building a free Iraq.

Last week, I outlined the five steps to helping Iraq achieve democracy and freedom. We will hand over authority to a sovereign Iraqi government, help establish security, continue rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, encourage more international support, and move toward a national election that will bring forward new leaders empowered by the Iraqi people.

The naming of the new interim government brings us one step closer to realizing the dream of millions of Iraqis: a fully sovereign nation with a representative government that protects their rights and serves their needs.

BUSH: Many challenges remain. Today's violence underscores that freedom in Iraq is opposed by violent men who seek the failure not only of this interim government but of all progress toward liberty. We will stand with the Iraqi people in defeating the enemies of freedom and those who oppose democracy in Iraq.

The killers know that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror. The return of tyranny to Iraq would embolden the terrorists, leading to more bombings, more beheadings and more murders of the innocent around the world.

The rise of a free and self-governing Iraqi will deny terrorists a base of operation, discredit their narrow ideology and give momentum to reformers across the region.

A free Iraq will be a decisive blow to terrorism at the heart of its power and a victory for the civilized world and for the security of America.

The will of Iraqis and our coalition is firm. We will not be deterred by violence and terror. We will stand together and ensure that the future of Iraq is a future of freedom.

I'll take some questions.

QUESTION: Mr. President, you just talked about more international support. With the new government and the expected Security Council resolutions, do you expect -- what do you expect in the way of other countries to come forward with major pledges of troops for Iraq? And do you think there's going to be more violence as the turnover occurs?

BUSH: I think on the second half of that question, yes, I believe there will be more violence because there's still violent people who want to stop progress. Their strategy hasn't changed. They want to kill innocent lives to shake our will and to discourage the people inside Iraq. That's what they want to do. And they're not going to shake our will.

In terms of whether or not there will be a major -- you said major commitment of new troops? Is that the adjective you used, "major"?

I don't know if there will be a major commitment of new troops, but I think there will be a major focus on helping Iraq become a free country.

And the next step in this process is to get a United Nations Security Council resolution. And to this end, I've been speaking with a variety of world leaders, to encourage them to -- by telling them we're willing to work with them to achieve language we can live with but, more importantly, language that the Iraqi government can live with.

And Kofi and I talked today, and he wants to hear from the new Iraqi government, and I don't blame him.

And we heard from the new Iraqi government, by the way, today, and the new prime minister, who stood up and thanked the American people, for which I was grateful. He was speaking to the mothers and dads and wives and husbands of our brave troops who have helped them become a free country.

BUSH: And I appreciate his strong statement.

QUESTION: Were you surprised at the way the governing council took command of the selection process -- I mean, concern that the new president has had some criticisms of the United States?

BUSH: From my perspective, Mr. Brahimi made the decisions and brought their names to the governing council. As I understand it, the governing council simply opined about names; it was Mr. Brahimi's selections. And Ambassador Bremer and Ambassador Blackwill were instructed by me to work with Mr. Brahimi. As we say in American sports parlance, he was the quarterback.

And it seemed like a good group to me. They're diverse. As I mentioned, a number of women are now involved in the government, which is a positive step for the citizens of Iraq.