Ahmed Chalabi Quotations

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

The fight against corruption is not bound to high-profile arrests and high-profile investigations. The fight against corruption is successful if you prevent corruption taking place in the first place.

All Iraqis can unite to defeat terrorism and can unite to rebuild the country.

The battle against terrorism is not only a military fight but primarily a battle of information.

To handle the economy and services in a country like Iraq requires delegation of authority and the choice of competent people.

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 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.

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

Sectarian politics gets votes in Iraq. But sectarian government fails in Iraq.

Are Iraqis ready to carry the responsibility for their country? Is Iraq ready to be its own master? We want to be the masters of ourselves and to carry our responsibilities in this region.

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.

The Americans stabbed in the back the forces that worked to bring about the collapse of Saddam's regime and wanted to keep Iraq a sovereign country.

The issue of what my role in the - in persuading the Bush administration to go to war has been greatly exaggerated.

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

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.

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.

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.

You know the most important thing the Americans did for Iraq apart from liberating the country from Saddam was helping Iraq reduce its debt. The United States worked very hard to reduce 80 percent of Iraqi debt.

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,

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.

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.

What was said before is not important.

American companies will have a big shot at Iraqi oil,

America betrays its friends. It sets them up and betrays them. I'd rather be America's enemy.

It's customary when great events happen that the U.S. punishes its friends and rewards its enemies.

Iraq will not allow any action on its soil that could harm the U.S. We don't want any action from our soil to target our neighbors.

Baathism in Iraq equals Nazism in Germany.

... The meeting is called by the U.S. to give their vision of the interim Iraqi authority. It will be a one-day meeting. And the U.S. will present its vision, and there will be a statement after the meeting.

meeting ... called by the U.S. to give their vision of the interim Iraqi authority. It will be a one-day meeting. And the U.S. will present its vision, and there will be a statement after the meeting.

People will perceive him to be much more vulnerable now.

I did more than anyone else in persuading the U.S. to get rid of Saddam.

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

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.

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.

My response to this is that this sentence is unjust, and it's ill-founded and based on falsehood,

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

prepared to go to the Senate and respond to questions.

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.

It's customary when great events happen that the U.S. punishes its friends and rewards its enemies.

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.

Iraq will not allow any action on its soil that could harm the U.S. We don't want any action from our soil to target our neighbors.

If I visit Washington, it means there is no ice wall between us,

I do not know but I would be surprised if it did.

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.