Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz Briefs at the Baghdad Hospital

DEPSECDEF WOLFOWITZ: I’d like to begin by mentioning that Col. Gagliano, the senior surgeon here, and Col Pritchard, the commander of the hospital, are just two of many examples of incredible Army medicine I’ve run into over the last few months. Thank you for what you’re doing.

We just met with the five critically injured from this morning’s blast. Almost symbolically, it’s an incredible mixture of one UK civilian coalition partner, and four Americans, - three civilians, one military and the civilians are from three different agencies. This really has been a team effort. It continues to be a team effort and as I said this morning the victims of this attack, including a colonel who tragically died, are real heroes. The criminals responsible for their death and their injuries are the people who abused and tortured Iraq for 35 years. They’re a small number of bitter-enders who think they can some how take this country backwards by de-stabilizing it, by scaring us away. They’re not going to scare us away; we’re not giving up on this job. We’re going to finish this job and we will be unrelenting in our pursuit of these terrorists and criminals – the remnants of a sadistic and abusive regime.

I just had a short phone call with Secretary Rumsfeld to inform him of the situation as we saw it here and he expressed his own sympathy to the victims of this attack and his relief that all of you are safe.

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http://www.dod.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20031026-depsecdef0816.html

Presenter: Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz

Sunday, October 26, 2003

Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz Remarks on the Attacks on Al Rasheed Hotel

DEPSECDEF WOLFOWITZ: Good morning, Gen. Sanchez will arrange a briefing when the details of this incident are better confirmed. I just wanted to make a short statement.

This terrorist act will not deter us from completing our mission, which is to help the Iraqi people free themselves from the type of criminals who did this and to protect the American people from this kind of terrorism.

The Americans who are here doing this job civilian as well as military are heroes, and we want to express our profound sympathy to the victims of this attack.

The criminals who are trying to de-stabilize this country abused and tortured Iraq for 35 years and we have ended that mass oppression. There are few who refuse to accept the reality for a new and free Iraq. We will be unrelenting in our pursuit of them.

As the President has said, we’re taking this fight to the enemy. We’re bringing in additional international support and most important of all we have steadily growing numbers of Iraqi’s fighting alongside us, for a free Iraq. We are getting the job done despite the desperate acts of a dying regime of criminals.

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http://www.dod.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20031026-depsecdef0815.html

In case anyone had any doubt of this administration's response to last night's hit on the hotel, two more official statements from Paul Wolfowitz.

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"...victims of this attack, including a colonel who tragically died, are real heroes. The criminals responsible for their death and their injuries are the people who abused and tortured Iraq for 35 years. They’re a small number of bitter-enders who think they can some how take this country backwards by de-stabilizing it, by scaring us away. They’re not going to scare us away; we’re not giving up on this job. We’re going to finish this job and we will be unrelenting in our pursuit of these terrorists and criminals – the remnants of a sadistic and abusive regime."
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