*EPF303 07/16/2003
White House Report: New Council Offers Promise of "Free and Democratic Iraq"
(Iraq/Governing Council/security) (340)

History is being made as the 25 members of the new Iraqi Governing Council begin work on a constitution and on "the process toward a free and democratic Iraq," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters July 16.

"For the first time in three decades, the Iraqi people have the hope of charting a better future for themselves and controlling what that future will look like," he said.

The Governing Council, established on July 13, is made up of a diverse group of political leaders from across nation, McClellan noted.

Ambassador Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, has taken "strong steps" to stabilize and secure Iraq, McClellan said, and 19 countries are now helping the United States with stabilization and security there.

"We have a number of other countries that we are in discussions with, talking about ways that they can help," McClellan said. "I think that the international community recognizes that, whatever the past differences were leading up to the situation ... there are ways that people can contribute and help, because this is important not only to the region and peace and stability in the region, it's important to the world and making the world a safer place."

"[T]here are still some difficulties," in terms of security, McClellan said -- there are "loyalists to Saddam Hussein and his former regime, Ba'athists and others from outside the country that are trying to disrupt these successes. They oftentimes will target the success that we are making, so that's why you have seen some of these attacks."

McClellan said the United States is "focused on returning Iraq to the Iraqi people as quickly as possible so that we can leave. ... But we will stay there as long as it takes to move Iraq to a free and democratic country."

The United States, he added, is also "focusing on economic prosperity for the Iraqi people."

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents