Bush And Blair On Iraq
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have expressed their full support for Iraq's new government.
President George W. Bush says that the United States will fully support Iraq's new government, headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki: "He has declared he will use maximum force to defeat the terrorists. He's vowed to eliminate illegal militias and armed gangs. He wants to accelerate the training of the Iraqi security forces so they can take responsibility from coalition forces for security throughout Iraq. He wants to improve health care, and housing, and jobs so the benefits of a free society will reach every Iraqi citizen." Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Mr. Bush in Washington after visiting Iraq: "Not a single one of the people I talked to, not one of the political leaders, from whatever part of the spectrum in Iraq that I talked to - and these are all people from all the different communities elected by their people - not one of them wanted us to pull out precipitately. All of them wanted us to stick with it and see the job done... They have a very, very clear sense of what they want the multinational force to do. They want us there in support until they've got the capability, and then they want us to leave, and then to take full charge of their country. And I believe that can happen." President Bush said that the United States, Britain, and other coalition members will "work to engage other nations around the world to ensure that constitutional democracy in Iraq succeeds and the terrorists are defeated."