WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi told a joint session of the US Congress that elections would be held in Iraq as scheduled in January, and that despite a tough struggle "we are succeeding."
"I know that some have speculated, even doubted whether this (January election) date can be met," Allawi said. "So let me be absolutely clear. Elections will occur in Iraq on time in January because Iraqis want elections on time."
Speaking in English after receiving a standing ovation, Allawi told the chamber: "We are succeeding in Iraq. It`s a tough struggle with setbacks, but we are succeeding.
"My friends, today we are better off. You are better off. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein," Allawi said. "Your decision to go to war in Iraq was not an easy one but it was the right one.
"We Iraqis know that Americans have made, and continue to make, enormous sacrifices to liberate Iraq, to assure Iraq`s freedom," Allawi said. "I have come here to thank you, and to promise you that your sacrifices are not in vain.
"Thank you, America."
"The overwhelming majority of Iraqis are grateful," said Allawi, who was to meet with President George W. Bush later in the day at the White House.
"They are grateful to be rid of Saddam Hussein and the torture and brutality he forced upon us, grateful for the chance to build a better future for our families, our country and our region," he said.
"We are fighting for freedom and democracy, ours and yours," Allawi said. "Every day, we strengthen the institutions that will protect our new democracy, and every day, we grow in strength and determination to defeat the terrorists and their barbarism."
Allawi, whose speech was interrupted by applause on numerous occasions, said the struggle in Iraq "is not about the future of Iraq only.
"It`s about the worldwide war between those who want to live in peace and freedom, and terrorists," he said.
"In Iraq we confront both, insurgency and the global war on terror with their destructive forces sometimes overlapping.
"These killers may be just a tiny fraction of our 27 million population, but with their guns and their suicide bombs to intimidate and to frighten all the people of Iraq, I can tell you today, they will not succeed," he said.
Allawi`s rare speech to a joint session of Congress comes amid increasing criticism of Bush`s handling of the situation in Iraq by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
Speaking in Columbus, Ohio, shortly after Allawi`s speech, Kerry said the premier was painting an unrealistically upbeat picture of the situation in his homeland.
"I think the prime minister is obviously contradicting his own statement of a few days ago where he said the terrorists are pouring into the country," Kerry said. "The prime minister and the president are here, obviously, to put their best face on the policy."
In his speech, Allawi blamed US and international media for focusing on the unrest rather than progress towards rebuilding Iraq, a charge frequently heard among Bush allies.
He cautioned that the elections "may not be perfect, may not be the best elections that Iraq will ever hold.
"But they will take place, and they will be free and fair. And though they won`t be the end of the journey toward democracy, they will be a giant step forward in Iraq`s political evolution," he said.