TRANSCRIPT: President Bush in Iraq

Sept. 3, 2007 — -- ABC News' Martha Raddatz, who is back in Iraq for her fourteenth reporting trip since the start of the war, interviewed President George Bush today after his surprise visit to the country.

Below is an excerpted transcript of their conversation, portions of which aired on "World News with Charles Gibson" Monday evening.

Raddatz: Mr. President, judging from what I heard you say, talking to Secretary Gates and Condoleezza Rice, it sounds like you need the surge to continue for a while?

Bush: That's going to be up to the recommendations of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. No question that the reinforcements and the surge have made a difference and we are standing in a province where it has made a significant difference. And so I'm looking forward to what they have to say as to how to continue security and at the same time enhance the reconciliation process.

Raddatz: General Petraeus -- we talked to this morning and he said he's given you his recommendation already this morning.

Bush: Well I'm not going to give it to you now, I'm going to wait for General Petraeus to come and speak to the country. I wanted to make sure that that which he had shared with me before was something that he genuinely believed. It's important for me to sit with our commanders face to face. And I was able to do so. And I must tell you that I was impressed by the quality of people we have here, whether they be the private or the general.

Raddatz: What was it like for you? You have not seen so many people here, you haven't been to an area like this before, just your impressions.

Bush: First of all it's pretty stark out here and it's hot. Kind of reminds me in terms of the temperature what West Texas was like when I was growing up. Secondly, I met with some local Sheiks, people who basically had declared that they were sick and tired of al Qaeda and helped turned the tide here against these extremists and murderers. It was interesting talking to these people who were on the front, really what you would call the front lines of liberty, but the thing that most impressed me was our troops. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the, because these people have volunteered. And morale is high. Look, people want to go home. Everybody wants, everybody misses their family. But you ask them whether they've accomplished the mission, the answer is yeah and you ask them how they are feeling, they say we're in this fight. And I am very grateful.