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THE PRESIDENT: It's my pleasure to welcome Secretary Gates, the Joint Chiefs, and the
combatant commanders to the White House. First of all, it's an honor to be in the presence
of such fine citizens, men who are doing their duty to protect this country. And we have
no more solemn duty than to protect America in this war against extremists and radicals.
I'm looking forward to our discussion about the theaters in which you are representing
America. I'm looking forward to discussion about the new way forward in Iraq. I thank
you for your service.
I also call upon the Senate to move quickly to confirm Lieutenant General Petraeus as
the Commander of the Multinational Forces Iraq, Admiral Fallon as the Commander of Central
Command, and General Casey as the Army Chief of Staff. It is important to get these three
fine individuals in their posts as soon as possible so that we have continuity as we
do our duty to protect the American people.
We'll have a wide-ranging discussion here, and then Laura and I have the high privilege
of welcoming you and your spouses to dinner tonight. Welcome, and thank you for coming.