Ahmed Chalabi Quotes (35 Quotes)

I strongly believe that a federal structure based on administrative and geographic lines with strong powers for the federated states will be the best solution for Iraq.

Do not seek to find a reason why elections are not possible. Seek to make them possible, and they will be possible.

Where did the money go What was it used for Who was it given to

That's a very important policy. The United States now can be taken to mean the removal of Saddam Hussein, and we believe that President Clinton took a courageous stand.

There is a bond of blood between Iraq and the US in fighting for the cause of freedom,

I call on the international community to be fair to the Iraqi people. My position is that we respect international resolutions but in return demand justice and accountability for those who stole Iraq's money.

You may say that the Iraqis are overcompensating for Saddam's deceptive pro-Arab slogans. This does not justify what is happening, but might explain it. Saddam used to give the Arabs privileges in Iraq while depriving the Iraqis of similar privileges. There is a reaction in the street and it should be contained. We cannot turn our backs on our Arab milieu.

The elections went well because the Iraqi people have an overwhelming desire to vote. The unions of people are stronger than the handful of terrorists. And the terrorists threw everything they had into this fray, and they lost.

Saddam did not have a serious military plan to confront the coalition, but he had a serious post-defeat plan which he's putting into operation,

This law will embody the principles that find general consensus among the Iraqi people ... respect for human rights and respect for basic political freedoms, including freedom of religion and the practice of religion and the equality of all citizens.

Democracy in Iraq will be an example that the Arab population will look to with great interest. And some Arab governments are concerned about democracy in Iraq, not because Iraq will be an aggressive state against them, but rather by the example that will be set by a successful federal democratic state in Iraq.

People will perceive him to be much more vulnerable now.

The issue of terrorism must be dealt with firmly. We must work very hard to avoid loss of life. We must work very hard to avoid civilian casualties. And those terrorists and Baathists are holding the people of Fallujah hostage. We must release the hostages.

This process has to be entirely in the hands of Iraqis, and it has to be done by a constitutional convention that is completely free of all other institutions in Iraq, including the governing council.

There is some evidence that it was formulated in writing before the war started, for after the war. And I think that Saddam had this plan done, and it's being implemented by the remnants of his regime.

We had hoped this delegation would occupy Iraq's seat in the U.N., and we understand this was not approved due to the reservations of some of the neighbors.

The intelligence agencies of the United States say they have a five-year plan - that we must develop new sources of human intelligence and infrastructure inside Iraq, before we can do anything about the regime. That's a long process. Essentially, they say, don't do anything now.

We extend our deepest sympathies to the Kuwaiti people and hope it will now be possible to have a final accounting of their loved ones,

And we are grateful to the American young men and women who are risking their lives to give the Iraqi people this chance, this dream of democracy in Iraq now.

I respond by saying it's always more important to look to the future than to the past, ... The country is in a dire situation. We need to improve the quality of life of the Iraqi people and establish Iraq in the community of the nations.

When America treats its friends this way, then they are in big trouble.

Without a doubt, I'm being set up, ... to discredit the family and discredit the tribunal.

We look forward for cooperation with the U.N. in establishing and drafting a constitution,

The Iraqi people are living a long-running tragedy because of the legacy of the old regime, the Americans and their actions that are unsuitable for Iraqi society, and the weakness of national resolve.

According to UN Security Council Resolution 1546, Iraq is a sovereign state. There are multinational forces in Iraq and I want these forces to be of assistance to the Iraqi government. I want their role be specified and regulated in an agreement. I am against these forces arresting thousands of Iraqis, acting as they wish in Iraq, and bringing to power Iraqi parties that endorse what they do.

I don't think that they have many of the scientists who were involved in the weapons program to talk to at this time, and there were thousands of people, engineers and scientists, they know where the weapons are.

The view that we hold in Iraq now is this - that democracy is associated with elections. I believe that elections are possible.

As for democracy and the political process in Iraq, isn't there democracy in Germany And yet is the Nazi party allowed back

We will have an assembly which is elected by the people and a government which is completely legitimate,

We actually started military operations against Saddam in March of 1995. The operation went on for three weeks. We received no support.

My message to CPA is let my people go, ... Let my people be free. We are grateful to President Bush for liberating Iraq but it is time for Iraqi people to run their affairs.

The court will be impartial and just.

It will be a war of national liberation. We believe the people reject totalitarianism.

Patriotism is not a piece of paper. Had we wanted to live in other countries, we would have stayed there. But we came to Iraq.

The Iraqi people never had a personality that galvanized them, and around which they gathered, throughout the eight decades of Iraqi history.