US President meets Iraqi PM al-Maliki, news conference
(22 Jul 2009) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of US President Barack Obama and Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arriving for news conference in Rose garden, UPSOUND: (English) "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, accompanied by the Prime Minister of Iraq." 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Barack Obama, US President ++soundbite begins on wide of news conference, zoom in to Obama++ "Good afternoon everybody. We've just concluded a very productive discussion about a wide range of issues. We meet at an important moment. Substantial progress has been made since Prime Minister Maliki's first visit to Washington in 2006 and since the Prime Minister and I had a chance to sit down together in Baghdad." 3. Cutaway Obama and al-Maliki at news conference 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Barack Obama, US President "Now, we are in the midst of a full transition to Iraqi responsibility and to a comprehensive partnership between the United States and Iraq based on mutual interests and mutual respect." 5. Cutaway news conference 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Barack Obama, US President "We'll move forward with our strategy to responsibly remove all American combat brigades from Iraq by the end of next August and to fulfil our commitment to remove all American troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. As we move forward, Prime Minister Maliki and I have no doubt that there will be some tough days ahead. There will be attacks on Iraqi security forces and the American troops supporting them. There are still those in Iraq who would murder innocent men, women and children. There are still those who want to foment sectarian conflict. But make no mistake, those efforts will fail." 7. Cutaway Obama and al-Maliki 8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister "I have discussed today with President Obama about ways to activate the strategic relationship on the economic front, cultural front, educational front, commercial front, and in every possible area where the United States can play a role in supporting the Iraqi government." 9. Cutaway Obama and al-Maliki at news conference 10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister "We are about to activate such a strategic framework agreement. Efforts are present on both sides also to convene an investment conference in October of this year, that will combine all foreign investors and all companies that would wish to work in Iraq." 11. Cutaway Obama and al-Maliki at news conference 12. SOUNDBITE (English) Barack Obama, US President "It, I think, would be a mistake for Iraq to continue to be burdened by the sins of a deposed dictator. Now, in order to do that, we're going to have to obtain cooperation from various members of the United Nations. I think that there are going to have to be some specific disputes that are resolved between Iraq and some of its neighbours. We intend to be very constructive in that process - but we have said clearly and I have repeated today to the Prime Minister that we will work diligently with Iraq so that in fact Iraq is no longer within Chapter Seven." 13. Obama and al-Maliki leaving STORYLINE US President Barack Obama held a joint news conference on Wednesday with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and confirmed that the United States would stick to its schedule and remove all its troops from Iraq by the end of 2011, even though there would be "tough days ahead." Standing in the Rose Garden alongside al-Maliki, Obama said the two nations were in the midst of a "full transition" that would be based on mutual interest and respect. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
