Joost Hiltermann Quotes (11 Quotes)

Under Saddam, you usually were OK as long as you kept your mouth shut. Now you might get hurt or even killed almost arbitrarily, given the absence of rule of law, the sectarian fighting, insurgent actions and U.S. carelessness in responding to attacks.

There are clerics who are very moderate and who understand what the current situation demands, and there are clerics who have political agendas and who marshal forces for their own gain. Those are the dangerous ones.

These frustrations have only gotten worse even as the rhetoric that 'democracy is coming' has increased.

even if it wasn't directly caused by Sunni insurgents, the perception will be that it was.

The good thing about the December election was that Sunnis participated but the logic of sectarianism was already set in motion.

There's a lot of remote-controlling going on. You have here all the people who don't want to expose their families to violence, kidnapping, bad schools, etc.

The Kurds are looking for a way to say 'We played the game, we acted in good faith, it's not working, we'll set up our separate country,'

The situation in Iraq looks austere and the implementation of a new all inclusive government is very important for better security.

The constitution should have been a national compact, but the final product has pushed Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Shiites further apart, setting them on a path toward civil war and the dissolution of the country.

The Americans are seen as an occupying power with long term goals to control oil.

But at the same time they play an important role because they physically stand between militias that are at each other's throats.