Statesman

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.

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

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

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

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 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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Baathism in Iraq equals Nazism in Germany.

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.