Iraq

President Bush Participates in Video Teleconference with Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Team Leaders and Brigade Combat Commanders
President Bush (Oct. 15): "I've just finished a meeting with our Ambassador, and General Odierno, members of our -- some of the PRTs, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, in Iraq, for folks who have been spending time in Iraq. We are having success in Iraq. And one of the main reasons why is we're implementing an innovative strategy that combines our military with civilian expertise to help people at the grassroots level build a society that will lay the foundation for peace." Full Text

Remarks at the Presentation of the Distinguished Service Award to Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Commanding General U.S. Central Command David Petraeus
Secretary Rice (Oct. 6): "It's a distinct honor to join you for a very special occasion: the presentation of the Distinguished Service Award to General David Petraeus and to Ambassador Ryan Crocker. This is the highest honor that the State Department confers. And I cannot think of two more deserving public servants to receive it." Full Text

Secretary Rice Meets With Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
Secretary Rice (Sept. 27): "I was actually going to just make a comment, just to say that the Minister and I had a very good conversation and we were talking about how different our conversations are this year than last year, and certainly much more different than the year before, because we now are doing, in many ways, the normal business of two governments." Full Text

Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte at The Middle East Policy Forum, George Washington University
Deputy Secretary Negroponte (Sept. 25): "Let me be clear: the significant progress of the past 20 months does not mean that our work in Iraq is over. Our goal is an Iraq that is federal, democratic, pluralistic and unified; an Iraq that is at peace with itself, with its neighbors, and with the international community." Full Text

Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and the United States
Statement issued jointly by participating Foreign Ministers after the GCC, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and United States meeting on September 24, 2008, in New York City.

President Bush Meets with President Talabani of Iraq and Iraq Coalition
President Bush (Sept. 23): "Mr. President, it is a pleasure to be with you and it's a pleasure to be with nations that have helped your democracy grow. A lot of people around the world have made sacrifices along with the Iraqi people to enable a country to emerge from the shadows of tyranny become a hopeful example for nations around the world." Full Text

Fact Sheet: Iraqis Take Responsibility for Security in Anbar Province
Once Considered A Province Lost To Al Qaeda, Today Anbar Becomes The 11th Out Of 18 Provinces To Return To Provincial Iraqi Control [more]

Satellite Press Briefing with Governor Ma’amoun Sami Rasheed, Anbar Province, Iraq
The Department of State will host a special Digital Satellite press conference with the Governor of Anbar Province, Iraq. Governor Ma'amoun Sami Rasheed will brief reporters at the Department of State via satellite on the province's return to Provincial Iraqi control. [more]

The Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force, U.S. Department of Commerce, helps U.S. companies participate in reconstruction and other business opportunities in Iraq. The State Department's Office of Commercial and Business Affairs also provides information on reconstruction contracts.