Deadly suicide bomb attacks this week and disagreements over a proposed constitution will not stop Iraq's progress toward democracy, US President George W. Bush said Saturday.
"The Iraqi people are making excellent progress," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
"Members of the Governing Council are having a free and open and spirited debate as they complete a new framework for governing their nation. This transitional administrative law will result in protecting the rights of all Iraqis, and will move the country toward a democratic future," Bush said.
Bush also condemned suicide bombings at Shia shrines in Baghdad and Karbala that killed 170 people earlier this week, saying they would not stop Iraq's progress toward democracy.
"(First Lady) Laura (Bush) and I and the American people were filled with grief and anger at these terrible acts of murder, which took the lives of dozens of innocent Iraqis," he said.
Bush said the attacks on the shrines were part of an al Qaeda plot to incite a religious conflict in Iraq, a plan that was exposed when the United States released a letter purportedly written by Jordanian national Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a prime suspect in recent attacks.