If we are lucky, and George W. Bush is right, we are about to witness the War of the Happy Iraqis.
We will win again in Iraq; I do think that Iraq can definitely be handled. I think that it can be kept intact.
We want to be a friend and partner to a sovereign, prosperous, and stable Iraq.
We need to make it clear that we will withdraw from Iraq within 6 to 9 months - so that the Iraqis will know that they must stand up and defend the opportunity given to them.
The kind of Iraq that emerges from all of this is ultimately out of our hands.
We have reached an important milestone and achieved a new momentum in reaching a goal all Americans should embrace - building a secure, peaceful, democratic Iraq that is no longer a threat to the United States or the international community.
And so there are so many good things going on all across Iraq and unfortunately that's not what the American people see on TV or they don't read a lot about it in the newspapers.
Once the people of Iraq know when the U.S. troops will leave, their confidence in the U.S. will increase.
A transitional government is the beginning of a transfer of sovereignty. It's a question of Iraqi security and moving forward with the political process.
When the government is handed over to the Iraqi Council on 30 June, many have declared, oh, the Americans must never leave because civil unrest may erupt. Well, I agree, we cannot abruptly depart, but Iraq needs to step up to the plate on 30 June.
Capturing Saddam Hussein and ensuring that this brutal dictator will never return to power is an important step toward stabilizing Iraq for the Iraqis. Let's also be clear: Our problems in Iraq have not been caused by one man, and this is a moment when the administration can and must launch a major effort to gain international support and win the peace.
I was in Iraq in the worst period, 2006, but from 2006 to 2008, and especially through 2011, the American military and the government of Iraq made huge strides in making that country a source of stability with a relatively representative government that was seeking pluralistic engagement from all the factions within the government.
