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Ambassador John D. Negroponte has departed Iraq to return to the United States. Charge d'Affaires, a.i. James F. Jeffrey has assumed his duties.
At a March 15 dinner hosted in his honor by Iraqi Prime Minister Dr. Ayad Allawi, Ambassador Negroponte made the following farewell remarks to Dr. Allawi and the other guests in attendance:
“Thank you very much for those kind words, Mr. Prime Minister, and thank you for your understanding, your support, and your friendship during the nine months I have had the privilege of representing President Bush in the Republic of Iraq, which you have served so well as Prime Minister of the Interim Government.
I have the highest regard for your service and the deepest appreciation for what you and your colleagues have accomplished under the most difficult of circumstances. Everyone gathered here this evening has shouldered some of that burden on behalf of the Iraqi people; and everyone here deserves high praise for making so many sacrifices and contributions in support of Iraqi sovereignty.
Working together, Iraq’s Interim Government has begun rebuilding Iraq’s security forces, its international relations, its health, transportation, justice and communication systems, its educational system, and most importantly, Iraq’s faith in itself. Through your efforts, the Iraqi people saw what brave women and men can accomplish when they volunteer to do their best for the good of one and all. No one in the Iraqi Interim Government conducted his or her business-whether it had to do with oil or human rights, trade or finance-without simultaneously making the case for this great nation’s right to freely determine its destiny through peaceful democratic means.
You faced one difficult decision after another, dealing with violence in Najaf, Fallujah and Mosul, renegotiating the terms of the previous regime’s foreign debt, and standing by the timetable that gave Iraqis the chance to participate in the elections of January 30th. None of this was easy, not a single day of it, but the more work the Interim Government did in Iraq’s behalf, the stronger Iraq became. We have no doubt that the Iraqi Transitional Government, which will soon be formed, will build on this excellent record.
Historians will evaluate the impact the January 30th elections had on Iraq and perhaps the entire Middle East, but I know, from having walked that path with you, how much you all put into that effort and how difficult it was to fulfill your responsibilities in giving the Iraqi people a chance to express themselves through ballots, not bullets, votes not violence.
The job is far from done, but there is a principle perhaps each of us has experienced in our own lives: what is begun well, ends well, and the January 30th election was certainly a good beginning. I regret that I will not be in Iraq through the next important political phase. Now the Iraqi people will undertake the business of writing a constitution, and there’s nothing more important in a democracy than that-the fundamental framework of the rule of law. The values and principles inscribed in that document will defend Iraq against all enemies: it will hold Iraqis together; it will dismantle insurgency; and it will drive out terror.
The key to freedom is believing in freedom, and I am sure that is what your new constitution will proclaim: Iraq is finally free.
God bless you all. It has been an honor to stand by your side.”
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