Trip Notes by Date

January 8

Dana Perino
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary

Full Note

January 9

Dana Perino
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary

Full Note

January 10

Ed Gillespie
Counselor to the President

Full Note

January 11

Ed Gillespie
Counselor to the President

Full Note

January 12

Stephen Hadley
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

Full Note

January 13

Bill McGurn
Assistant to the President for Speechwriting

Full Note

January 14

Dana Perino
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary

Full Note

January 15

Dana Perino
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary

Full Note

January 15

Joshua Bolten
White House Chief of Staff

Full Note

January 16

George W. Bush
President of the United States

Ask the White House Transcript

 

Reports on Democracy in the Middle East

Biography

Stephen Hadley

Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

The President’s first event of the day was a meeting with General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, our Commanding General and Chief of Mission in Iraq. The President has a chance to visit with them almost every week by a secure video teleconference system (or SVTS) but used the opportunity of being in the region to meet with them face to face.

General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker Report on Progress in Iraq

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Ambassador Crocker told the President that the Iraqi parliament (the Council of Representatives) is now in session and will soon take up the Accountability and Justice Act, also known as the de-Baathification law. This Act, plus the recently adopted pension reform legislation, will mark a major step forward in the process of reconciliation between Sunni, Shia, and Kurd.

The Iraqi leaders are also seeking to reach an agreement defining the relationship between the national government and the 18 provinces – in the same way that our own Constitutional Convention had to resolve the issue of states’ rights in the founding days of our own nation. Legislation on this issue (called the Provincial Powers Law) would pave the way for provincial elections perhaps beginning before the end of the year. These elections would provide an opportunity particularly for Sunnis to enter more actively in the political process. Many Sunnis boycotted the last set of Iraqi provincial elections held some years ago – resulting in few Sunnis serving in provincial councils even in provinces where much or even a majority of the population may be Sunni. This, too, would make a major contribution toward reconciliation of all Iraqis.

General Petraeus described continued progress on the security side but emphasized that there was still hard work to do. We are up against a very resilient and brutal enemy that is very good at adapting to our change in tactics. That said, we have experienced enough success that we are continuing to withdraw units from Iraq without replacing them. A brigade-sized Marine Expeditionary Unit and an army brigade have come out, with four more brigades scheduled to come out by July assuming the security situation permits.

Middle East Trip

Kuwaiti Women Discuss Democracy and Freedom

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The President also met with an extraordinary group of women who are working on bringing greater freedom and economic well being to Kuwaiti women. The President assured these women of his commitment to their cause. I have heard him say many times – and heard him say again today – that women’s empowerment is a key element of the advance of freedom. “You are pioneers,” he told these women. “You are on the front edge of freedom.”

What was interesting is how many of these women had studied in the United States and had now returned to Kuwait to become agents of change. One of the women told the President that the number of overseas scholarships for Kuwaiti women had increased from 350 to 1500 each year. Women’s empowerment is key to the freedom agenda, and education is key to women’s empowerment.

Some 27 women ran for parliament in the most recent election in Kuwait, and while none of them won, the President joked that he had also lost his first election.  And women are participating actively in the electoral process.  More women than men voted in the last parliamentary election. 

A number of women emphasized how important it was that the United States continues to be committed to the advance of democracy and particularly to fund the Middle East Partnership Initiative by which U.S. funds are made available for democracy support.  The President assured the women of his commitment – and said he would make that commitment clear in a speech he will give tomorrow in the United Arab Emirates.

Arrival Ceremony in Bahrain

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The President arrived on Saturday afternoon in Bahrain and was treated to an extraordinary arrival ceremony by the King of Bahrain, complete with a traditional sword dance and singing. Bahrain is a good friend of the United States and President Bush is pleased to be the first sitting U.S. president to visit.

 

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