QUOTE OF THE DAY
President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq
Four Seasons Hotel Amman, Amman, Jordan
PRESIDENT BUSH: Good morning. It's good to be in Amman. I first want to thank His Majesty King Abdullah for his gracious hospitality
Prime Minister Maliki and I just had a very productive meeting. This is the third time we've met since he took office six months ago, and with each meeting I'm coming to know him better. He's a strong leader who wants a free and democratic Iraq to succeed. The United States is determined to help him achieve that goal.
I told the Prime Minister we're ready to make changes to better support the unity government of Iraq, and that certain key principles behind our strategy remain firm and they're fixed. First, we believe the success of Prime Minister Maliki's government is critical to the success in Iraq. His government was chosen by the Iraqi people through free elections in which nearly 12 million people defied terrorists to cast their ballots. I've told the Prime Minister that our goal in Iraq is to strengthen his government and to support his efforts to build a free Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself, and is an ally in the war against the terrorists.
Secondly, the success of the Iraqi government depends on the success of the Iraqi security forces. During our meetings, the Prime Minister and I heard an update from an important group that our government established last month: the Joint Committee on Accelerating the Transferring of Security Responsibility. We agreed on the importance of speeding up the training of Iraqi security forces. Our goal is to ensure that the Prime Minister has more capable forces under his control so his government can fight the terrorists and the death squads, and provide security and stability in his country.
Third, success in Iraq requires a united Iraq where democracy is preserved, the rule of law prevails, and minority rights are respected. The Prime Minister made clear that splitting his country into parts, as some have suggested, is not what the Iraqi people want, and that any partition of Iraq would only lead to an increase in sectarian violence. I agree. In the long-term, security in Iraq requires reconciliation among Iraq's different ethnic and religious communities, something the overwhelming majority of Iraqis want.
The Prime Minister and I also discussed the review of our strategy in Iraq that is now nearing completion. I assured the Prime Minister that our review is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the sovereign government of Iraq to meet their objectives, which we share. As part of the review, I've asked our military leaders in the Pentagon and those on the ground in Iraq to provide their recommendations on the best way forward.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY 
President George W. Bush waves next to the Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki, not seen, during a press conference in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006
President George W. Bush responds to a question Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006, during a joint press availability in Amman, Jordan, with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. White House photo by Paul Morse
A man examines an electric cart used by U.S. President George W. Bush during the G8 Summit, on display for an auction outside a conference hall at the Konstantinov palace in St.Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006. The electric carts used by leaders and delegates of the G8 Summit held in July in St. Petersburg, were up for auction
