Vice President Biden it is genuinely an honor to be a before such a distinguished audience. Ambassador, thank you. She is a senior Vice President. I am just a Vice President. [laughter] vice President Biden these days, i dont like the word Senior Associated with my name. [laughter] vice President Biden i like to say to the ambassador, it is an honor to have you here today. Military officers men and women and brian how are you doing brian . Good to see you. Next week, the Prime Minister will make his first visit to washington dc. This provides us with an opportunity to take stock of where things stand right now. That is going to be the focus of my remarks today. Critics have made a number of claims regarding our policy in iraq and the state of affairs in iraq today. They say iraqs fight against i sil that i American International coalition has been stalemated. Isil remains in a commanding position inside a rat, that ran isil is dominating iraq and iraq itself is likely to be a thing of the past doomed to split apart because of violence. There is just one problem with these critiques. The claims do not reflect the circumstances on the ground. The claims do not represent the circumstances on the ground. They dont reflect the progress against isilincomplete but growing. Many predicted it would split them apart or the resolve to uphold their sovereignty and independence even as they look to their neighbors in all directions for assistance. The jury is still out. That is the truth. It is not over yet. But the momentum is in the right direction. I will buy to speak about that for a few moments. It is true that one isil took mozul last summer, we saw the collapse of the iraqi army the horrific slaughter of civilians, and the enslavement of women. Ethnic cleansing of people who had lived there for thousands of years. Significant, sophisticated military equipment left behind by iraqi forces. Manpower from brutal construction and foreign fighters. Maybe most dangerously, a sensible man of sensible inevitability seem to attract more foreign fighters. That is why one the capital fell, the president responded. Within hours he took steps with all of you, the military to make sure that all of our people in our embassy were secure. We put special forces in the field temporarily to better understand the battle space. We set up a joint Operations Center in baghdad. This was all to prepare to help the iraqis fight back. We knew the first order of business was to make sure that iraq had a functioning inclusive government. For all the years i spent in dealing with iraqi Public Officials and government, we knew for certain without a united Iraqi Government, there was no possibility and none of defeating isil. When mosul fell, iraq had just held a national election. Roughly 14 million iraqis showed up at the polls. Now, they had to form a government in the middle of this chaos. Having been deeply, deeply involved as brian mcewan will tell you because he was with me trying to help form the first government, we knew this could be extremely difficult. It was likely to be difficult. During the term of the last government, this trust had deepened so profoundly between sunni, shia, kurds, creating serious obstacles to a unified effort against isil and the willingness of staying together. The irony of all ironies is that iraq was actually helped form its government because of isil. Isil, the various outfit intended to tear iraq apart. It actually united iraqis. The sunnis realize they preferred a united, federal iraq under a new government to being at the mercy of isil or dependent upon the other sunni states. The kurds realized withdrawing from iraq was not a viable option and they did not want mosul the state on their doorstep. I dont know how many conversations i had relating to this. The shia realize they did not undertake on eiffel alone isil alone. Consequently, each concluded they were better off if they are in this together. To quote a famous american politician, we either hang together or hang separately. The iraqis themselves recognize how badly the trust had been broken. Nothing less than a comprehensive change can make a government to take on eiffel. Many iraqis later believed that the only way to do this was a wholesale change in leadership. That every interest and iraq had to find different leaders this time to occupy the seats of power. I remember speaking with a proud son of mosul and in deciding in order to make way for a new wave of leaders, it was important he would have to step down as speaker. There was a need from the speaker to the Prime Minister to be president to find new leaders. The result was another widely respected sunni. He became the new parliamentary speaker. Iraq chose a well respected senior statement to be the new president. He stuck to his convictions under enormous pressure. You know how the process works. He, the president , has to turn to one of the sanctions to form a government. It was an enormous amount of pressure. He stuck to his guns and named the Prime Minister from a shia leader who had built majority supported the Shia National alliance. There was a consensus among these leaders that iraq would need a much greater measure of functioning federalism, which is called for in the constitution. They all agreed to that. That common understanding that by genuine acts of statement chip has statement ship has led to significant progress and the chance of a longterm, unity government. In just eight months, the Prime Minister and other iraqi leaders have made an inclusive government. In record time, they arrived at a National Budget with equitable revenue sharing, forged an oil deal between baghdad. I dont know, the times brian and i sat there after the 23 visits into a rock into a rack being iraq being told there was an oil deal on the horizon. They began to mobilize thousands of sunni fighters to fight against isil. This past week, the Prime Minister discussed cooperation with forces and a plan to coordinate a budget in part to help liberate mosul. Yesterday, he was announcing the delivery of over 1000 weapons to sunni tribes for the liberation as part of his commitment he made to sunni leaders. More efforts to organize, arm integrate the sunnis willing to fight eiffel will be needed in the months ahead. Fight eiffel isil will be needed in months ahead. He is visiting to wait kuwait. Saudi arabia has agreed to open an embassy in baghdad. At the invitation of a shia iraqi president. These are only initialed but these are very promising promising steps. Obviously, a great deal of work remains, including moving forward in the National Guard legislation. Legislation to design, advanced national reconciliation, including continuing to mobilize integrate, arm, take sunni forces, further integrate the National Iraqi security force, bringing volunteer forces. Empowering local governments and planning for reconstruction and liberated areas. All of which we will be discussing with the Prime Minister, not that we have not discussed it a lot. We have probably spent more time on the phone then we have i have with my wife. [laughter] vice President Biden the entire region is watching us closely. Iraqi leaders cannot afford to lose that sense of political urgency that brought them to this point. Much hinges on the Prime Minister but not him alone. This is about all iraqi leaders together and they must continue to compromise. And it is hard. Thousands of bodies have been lost. But they are doing it we knew that in addition to forming a united Iraqi Government, the next challenge would be to help them put that together and ability to be able to position itself to succeed on the battlefield. That started with helping iraqis reorganize their security forces. For years, and the phase of terrorism, many fought bravely and gave their lives. Thousands gave their lives in the fight against isil. That would challenge any army. As we saw last summer, some units had been hollowed out with corruption and questionable leadership, lack of discipline and the collapse helped make the fall of mosul possible. Would begin to help leaders rebuild their forces with hires based on confidence, not ethnicity. Alabadi relieved a number of former officers and appointed new one. He appointed a defense minister, replaced 36 commanders, and continues to reform iraqis military leadership. We spend send our special forces to assess which units can be salvaged. Under the leadership, we began working with Iraqi Military to reconstitute their divisions. We are training and continued to train iraqi forces at four different sites across the country, 6000 of already graduated, thousands more in the pipeline. Since the fall of 2014 the u. S. Has delivered over 100 million rounds of ammunition, 62,000 small arms systems 1700 hellfire missiles. They are not protecting iraqi forces from mines and homemade bombs perfect 50 additional mwraps. At the air force base many of you were part of securing come we are training, advising assistant Iraqi Army Forces who are training sunni fighters. We are also bringing iraqi pilots to the United States who are in advanced stages of Flight Training in arizona to enhance the capacity to defend their country in the air. We are not doing it alone. We lead and mobilize a National Coalition of over 60 partner nato partners to help take on eiffel. Isil. It is a global effort to weaken isil across the board. In several nations, they are providing significant support in iraq. Eight Coalition Partners have launched over 500 airstrikes in iraq. They have provided trainers inside iraq, others are working with us to train and resupply the kurdish, who have reclaimed a significant portion of the territory initially gained by isil. Several countries including japan, saudi arabia, have made significant, nonmilitary contributions in areas such as Development Assistance to humanitarian aid. And majority within each of the constituencies supports these efforts. Leaders from across the iraqi political spectrum have publicly asked for our help. We are providing that helped in a smarter way. A small number of advisers back by backed by a coalition. It is backed up by the most capable air force in the world. We are pounding isil from the sky. 100 300 1300 air force attacks so far. We have not lost a single of those servicemen to enemy fire. But, this is a dangerous dangerous place. With our systems iraqis admit significant progress on the battlefield. Eight months ago, eiffel was on the defensive everywhere isil was on the defensive everywhere in iraq. Today in iraq, isil has lost large areas they used to dominate. Isil has been defeated at moseley dan mosul dam. Houses of isil fighters have been removed from the battlefield. Their ability to maneuver has been greatly degraded. Leaders have been eliminated, supply lines have been severed weapons, check went, fighting positions, safe houses have been destroyed. Reports of demoralization within the ranks are rising. Some fighters refusing to fight. Foreign fighters being killed by isil because they want to return home. There is still a long fight ahead. I dont want to paint an overly rosy picture. But, they have been pierced and that is important. Let me give you an example where the capability was tested as well as its political leadership. Three weeks ago in every newspaper in the west, the speculation was the u. S. Coalition to rockies elected leaders had been sidelined on the fight against isil, particularly in tikrit. Military forces back iran were running the show. You saw pictures. They made it clear that everyone saw we were there, the implication being we now own iraq. Then, something changed. The attacks stalled. Prime minister abadi stepped up. He stepped in, making it clear that the Iraqi Government him as commander in chief was in charge of this operation. When i spoke with him, he made it clear to me that he wanted the United States and the coalition to engage all over iraq. Explicitly, he wanted us to engage and requested support in tikrit. His call was joined by sunni leaders and the most Senior Leaders in the country who declared the Iraqi Government had to be in the lead, the units had to be directly under the command all units of the Iraqi Government. Sunnis had to be included in the liberation of their on communities. We made clear that we are prepared to help in the battle with volunteers both shia and sunni fighting alongside iraqi fighters but only if all elements in the fight operated strictly under the chain of command of the Iraqi Military. That is the only way we can ensure the safety of those on the ground and minimize the risk of friendly fire. Today, iraqs national flag, not isils, hangs over the crit the city up to crit tahkrit. Governing authority that two local officials back to local officials, restoring vital public services. And in the face of reports that there is mass looting and burning of homes, the Prime Minister stepped up and took swift action for study condemned the abuses, ordered the militia out, ensuring regular forces are patrolling and frankly acknowledged the degree of loss that had occurred. Hiding nothing. Once inside to crit the city, i still isil murdered 7000 young men. Mass graves are still being found, a stock reminder of the brutality of isil and the need for defeat. We are also taking the fight to isil in syria. InterNational Coalition has now launched over airstrikes. Bombed refineries have been taken over. The oil being used to fund their operations eliminating it as a source of revenue. We embarked on a Training Program to take on isil and protect syrian communities. In co. The regional challenge for iraq extends beyond syria. For years now, iraq has risked being pulled apart to a wide range of competition internally and externally. The reality is that iraqis dont want to be drawn into regional conflict. They dont want to be owned by anybody. Everybody forgets there is a war a decade before where 100,000 were killed. A war with iran, their neighbor. They dont want to be puppets dangling on a string of anyones puppeteering in the region. Dont underestimate our Iraqi National pride, independence sovereignty. It is only natural iraq will have relations with all of its neighbors, including iran. The history is too long, the border is too long come and it is a difficult neighborhood. Iraq must be free to make it on sovereign choice is the authority of elected representatives. We want what iraqis want a united, federal, and democratic iraq as defined by its unconstitutional where power is shared among all iraqi communities, where a sovereign government exercises command and control of the forces in the field. That is overwhelmingly what the iraqis want. I go back to the focus on the Iraqi Government. One of the three major constituencies sunni, shia, kurd are united in wanting a whole and prosperous iraq, the likelihood of being pulled into the orbit of any single nation of region is diminished exponentially because this would represent the only government in the region that actually is not based on dominance. This is going to be a long haul. Dealing with success or failure is in the hands of the iraqis will start as they stand up and together iraqis. As they stand up and together, we are committed to standing with them. I need not tell this audience since 2003, more than 1. 5 million american women and men including my son, have spent significant amounts of time on iraqi soil. Every single morning since i have been Vice President , we contacted the Defense Department and i ask the same question. Give me the exact number of americans who have given their lives on iraqi soil and afghan soil the exact number, not a generalization. The exact number of those who have been wounded and or lost in afghanistan. No one knows more than this every one of those lives, brave women and men represent a community, represent a family and a larger family. Only 1 of all americans have waged these fights for us but 99 of all americans owes them support and recognition. 4000 481 4004 at 81 americans have given their lives on iraqi soil including many who served alongside the people in this room. I bet everyone of you in uniform know somebody who has been lost orr wounded. You may ask why am i focusing on this. Although our mission is significantly different today then it was during then, there are still men and women in uniform in iraq making sacrifices as i speak, protecting our embassy training iraqis. Every other family neighbor thinks everything is fine. Dad or mom is not home for the earth day. They are missing that graduation. Theyre not there for christmas. We have an obligation. We have an obligation. Just because we no longer have 160,000 troops there. It is as intense and real as it was when we had an hundred 60,000 troops there. They warrant our support. Their families warned war it vice President Biden their blood and oil helped give iraq another chance. Im mission is to help the iraqis themselves to make the most of this. Thank you all for listening, but most of all, thank you for your service. May god bless the United States of america and may god protect our troops. Thank you. [applause] announcer on the next washington journal, we discussed the recent South Carolina