William H. Frist: “this morning I have the honor of meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari. The Prime Minister is in the…”

“this morning I have the honor of meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari. The Prime Minister is in the United States to meet with President Bush and other Washington leaders to discuss the next steps in Iraq's transition to a free and democratic society. I have not yet met the Prime Minister. I look forward to doing so in the next couple of hours. The Prime Minister deserves great praise for his leadership. He has worked hard as Prime Minister to reach out across ethnic and religious lines. Because of his efforts, Iraq is led by a transitional government that includes ministers from each of Iraq's ethnic and religious groups. The Prime Minister's steady leadership has been inspiring. Next Tuesday, 5 days from now, June 28, will mark the 1-year anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority to a sovereign Iraqi Government. Since then, Iraq has fought the insurgency with determination as it has undergone truly remarkable changes. Perhaps none was more remarkable than the elections on January 31. On that day, 8 million Iraqis cast their votes for the first democratically elected national assembly in more than 50 years. They came on foot, they came by car and some even came by wagon. They defied all manner of terrorist threat and terrorist intimidation. It was truly extraordinary.…”