Quotes by Jalal Talabani

A continued and consistent U.N. engagement, which bolsters the new Iraq, will convince Iraqis to put aside their qualms about an organization that many of them identify with the previous Baathist regime.
– Jalal Talabani
A greater international role is important to lift some of the burden from the shoulders of the United States.
– Jalal Talabani
A military coup needs a sacrifice and courage that you can't find in an army without morale.
– Jalal Talabani
After that we need a government with all parties, with Allawi, and our brother Sunnis. We insist all Iraqis have a role.
– Jalal Talabani
All I wanted was to be a university teacher.
– Jalal Talabani
All Iraqis will have the right to participate in the government and to ask for their own demands, and this will help to reshape Iraq on a base of national unity.
– Jalal Talabani
All such foreign-armed groups in Iraq must be neutralized and rendered harmless in a manner that is just and legal.
– Jalal Talabani
All the Iraqi groups got support and help from Syria. And now we have reached the position of rule, Syria should continue its support of these groups, the current ruling groups in Iraq that are friendly to Syria.
– Jalal Talabani
And the Iraqi people are liberated from the worst kind of dictatorship. Now they are enjoying their democratic rights, all kinds of freedoms, a free press.
– Jalal Talabani
And third, it proves for the Kurds that their struggle ended in a way that they can say the blood of their martyrs was not in vain.
– Jalal Talabani
As president of Iraq, I shall strive to represent the diversity of a country that has too often in the past denied difference.
– Jalal Talabani
But I am feeling as Iraqi, and my duty is to work as an Iraqi for all Iraqis regardless of their nationalities.
– Jalal Talabani
But those who are pro-Saddam are very difficult to reach agreement with, because they are still dreaming to bring back the dictatorship, which is of course refused by the big majority of the Iraqi people.
– Jalal Talabani
But while the new Iraq is open to all, there must be no underestimating our determination to vanquish terrorism.
– Jalal Talabani
But, we must understand this reality-the leadership of any people is responsible for their own policy, and must not put responsibility on the shoulders of others.
– Jalal Talabani
Conciliation is not capitulation, nor is compromise to be deemed equivalent to imbalanced concession.
– Jalal Talabani
Currently the international and regional situation does not permit for the foundation of an independent Kurdish state in north of Iraq.
– Jalal Talabani
Democracies, unlike dictatorships, are forgiving and generous, but they cannot survive unless they fight.
– Jalal Talabani
Every human must take responsibility for his actions.
– Jalal Talabani
First of all, elections were held in Iraq and 8.5 million Iraqis participated in them.
– Jalal Talabani
First of all, I would like to say, that all those who carry out suicide operations are not Iraqis.
– Jalal Talabani
First of all, I would like to state that the Kurdistan Democratic Party is an old party with great history, and so is the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
– Jalal Talabani
First, we insist on democracy, they on dictatorship. Then there is the matter of the continuous ethnic cleansing policy in the Kurdish areas under the control of the Iraqi government.
– Jalal Talabani
For me, I hope to continue to the end, my struggle and life, to see a democratic, federative, united, prosperous Iraq, that Iraqi people will live in peace and prosperity, and Iraq will use its huge wealth for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
– Jalal Talabani
However, there is a reality that must not be forgotten: the Kurdish people and the pesh merga have a long history of struggle and its irrational to deprive them of their weapons.
– Jalal Talabani
I always believed that we must depend on ourself, we must prepare our plans according to our forces, our relation with the army and with other groups.
– Jalal Talabani
I believe that the reaction should be one of public support and public welcome. Even the inhabitants complained and are annoyed by the delinquent operations.
– Jalal Talabani
I believe that we are about to face a new strategy of the neighboring countries, especially by the brothers who support Iraq and the Iraqi people.
– Jalal Talabani
I believe the democratic transformation in Iraq will lead to change in Middle East.
– Jalal Talabani
I consider myself the president of Kurds, Arabs, Turcomans, Christians, Yazidis, Sabiis, Muslims, Shiites, Sunnis - all Iraqis.
– Jalal Talabani
I don't think that Kurds will abandon their aim of establishing an independent Kurdish state.
– Jalal Talabani
I expected that one day when Iraq becomes a country where citizens are equal that a Kurd would be a president, and why not?
– Jalal Talabani
I shall stand for freedom of thought and expression in a place where it has been trampled and penalized.
– Jalal Talabani
I swore to respect the Iraqi democratic regime and the Iraqi laws.
– Jalal Talabani
I thank Turkish officials for their decision not to send troops to Iraq. Turkey is a friendly country, and I want a new page to be opened between us.
– Jalal Talabani
I think that Zarqawi appears isolated and hated by Iraqis and I would not rule out his capture any second, but I cannot guess where or when.
– Jalal Talabani
I think the Iraqi Liberation Act, is useful, very important, it's for the first time assuring Iraqi people that America wants to end dictatorship and replace it with a democratic system.
– Jalal Talabani
I think there is a kind of agreement among all of us that Islam must be the religion of the state, that the Islamic identity of Iraqi people must be respected, and that Islam will be one source of the laws in the country.
– Jalal Talabani
I think there is an exaggeration about the strength of Islamist movements here.
– Jalal Talabani
I think we are in great need to have American and other allied forces in Iraq until we will be able to rebuild our military forces, rebuild our security forces.
– Jalal Talabani
I want to be clear on the subject of Syrian relations. All of us in the governing council are friends of Syria.
– Jalal Talabani
I will try my best to convince my colleagues that we must have a comprehensive policy towards those who are fighting the regime.
– Jalal Talabani
I'm proud of having Turkey and Iran as neighbors.
– Jalal Talabani
If the court sentences Saddam Hussein to death, the verdict will be carried out. But I would have no other legal choice but to make myself absent so my two deputies would take the decision they wish.
– Jalal Talabani
In any place in the world, when the country is facing difficulties, beside the army, the people depended on the militias and the partisan groups.
– Jalal Talabani
In Iraq, it is impossible, because you have Kurds, Arabs, Shia, Sunni, Christians - such a kind of mosaic society.
– Jalal Talabani
In my opinion, Iraqi forces, the popular forces and government forces, are now ready to end the insurgency and this terrorism.
– Jalal Talabani
Indeed, we do not seek to export our political ideas or experiences, a practice that has too often led to instability in the Middle East.
– Jalal Talabani
Iraq has regained its independence and held democratic elections for the first time in its history, in order to elect a National Iraqi committee.
– Jalal Talabani
Iraq is not occupied, but there are foreign forces on its soil, which is different.
– Jalal Talabani
It is not Iran, it cannot be an Islamic society.
– Jalal Talabani
It is the American air protection, which safeguards the freedom enjoyed by the Kurdish region. It guarantees the cultural, health and civilizational progress made in Iraqi Kurdistan.
– Jalal Talabani
It is this regime that started a war of genocide against the Kurdish people, then started an unjust war against our dear neighbour Iran which has often helped the Iraqi people at times of hardship.
– Jalal Talabani
It is virtually impossible to demand the withdrawal of allied forces from Iraq. We will do so when the Iraqi army is established.
– Jalal Talabani
It would be good if these people were provided with electricity, water and independence, and the opportunity to speak their mother tongues and educate their children.
– Jalal Talabani
Justice for the major perpetrators cannot be separated from the vindication of the rights of the individual victim.
– Jalal Talabani
Military confrontation is not a suitable alternative in confronting terror and current security threats.
– Jalal Talabani
My door will always be open to those who genuinely renounce violence and seek peaceful accommodation into our nascent democracy.
– Jalal Talabani
My reply was that the Kurdish people welcome the presence of American forces in Kurdistan in order to defend the freedom they enjoy and to prevent being attacked with weapons of mass destruction.
– Jalal Talabani
My struggle was only for democracy in Iraq and for Kurdish rights, sometimes in the shape of autonomy, sometimes of federation in the framework of a democratic Iraq.
– Jalal Talabani
My two partners in the presidency, the government, the House, all of them are for sentencing Saddam Hussein to death before the court will decide.
– Jalal Talabani
Nor are the terrorists by any stretch of the imagination the repressed or the disadvantaged. They chose violence despite consistent exhortations to contribute to the new Iraq.
– Jalal Talabani
Now we are living in a country with a very democratic climate.
– Jalal Talabani
Now, the time has come for the rest of the world to recognize that a federal, democratic Iraq that can defend itself against terrorism is a goal worthy of broad international support.
– Jalal Talabani
Of course, some opposition members who failed in the elections, or some who did not take part in the elections must have something to say. They cannot admit the facts and the realities, but these are the facts and the realities.
– Jalal Talabani
On the other hand , we as Iraqi Kurds, we envision our interests within a unified democratic Iraq, in which we contribute to the government in Baghdad.
– Jalal Talabani
Our commitment to human rights, primarily of the individual, but also of our diverse ethnic and religious heritage for which we suffered, must be absolute.
– Jalal Talabani
Our gratitude to the American people is immense and we should never be embarrassed to express it.
– Jalal Talabani
Our plan is to struggle against terrorism and have security for the country and help draft a democratic constitution as soon as possible.
– Jalal Talabani
Our relation with Turkey is normal and good. Our relations are good with Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Our relations were good with Jordan during the late King Hussein's time.
– Jalal Talabani
Our Sunni Arabs brothers made a big mistake when they boycotted the elections. But they are an important group and we cannot ignore them and therefore they must take part in the democratic process.
– Jalal Talabani
Rather, it is through conciliation and compromise that we are building a fair Iraq, a just state for all its peoples.
– Jalal Talabani
Rather, we ask that the uniqueness of the Iraqi experience be recognized and our newly restored sovereignty respected.
– Jalal Talabani
Saddam Hussein committed many crimes, the most important of which are the mass graves that hold hundreds of thousands of Iraqis including children, women, the elderly and men who were buried without a trial.
– Jalal Talabani
Saddam Hussein's word, for example, was more important than the law. If he issued a decree and the law was against him, the law had to go, not his word.
– Jalal Talabani
Self-determination could mean independence, confederacy, federal and autonomy.
– Jalal Talabani
Slaying terrorism, and the extremist nationalism and perversion of religion that breeds it, will require our greatest effort, both as Iraqis and as new members of the alliance of democracies.
– Jalal Talabani
That is why I proposed, in my first speech as head of state, an amnesty for those who have been led astray by terrorism.
– Jalal Talabani
The 90% of the Turkomen live in areas under Iraqi rule. How come we never hear of any complaint from Turkey about their conditions under the oppressive dictatorial regime?
– Jalal Talabani
The Arab world must understand and recognise the reality of Iraq.
– Jalal Talabani
The assistance provided by the U.N. during the recent elections was invaluable and an important step toward the return of this organization to Iraq.
– Jalal Talabani
The central government will be for all where everyone will participate and offer their services according to their abilities and energy.
– Jalal Talabani
The choice of peace or war lies not with the Iraqis who ignored terrorism and intimidation to vote in their millions, the Iraqis to whom I am accountable.
– Jalal Talabani
The first thing we are thinking of doing after forming a national unity government is to build stability and security and to terminate terrorism.
– Jalal Talabani
The justice of our cause must be reflected in the manner in which we rectify the crimes of the past.
– Jalal Talabani
The Kurdish people have the right of self-determination like every other nation in the world.
– Jalal Talabani
The Kurdish people want American presence, not only as deterrent against possible Iraqi attacks but also because there are terrorist organizations such as the Ansar Al-Islam and others, which constitute a danger to the Kurdish people.
– Jalal Talabani
The Kurdish people welcome the no-fly zone protection, contrary to the Iraqi regime that is against it.
– Jalal Talabani
The president is representing the sovereignty of Iraq. He has the right to oversee all common issues of Iraq.
– Jalal Talabani
The rectification of past crimes and the binding up of the many wounds inflicted upon us by the Baathist regime -- these are matters for Iraqis alone.
– Jalal Talabani
The regional plots that pushed some Kurdish parties against other Kurdish parties are about to come to an end.
– Jalal Talabani
The Turkomen who reside in Kurdistan region fully enjoy their democratic rights.
– Jalal Talabani
The United States of America is not the lawyer of the Kurdish people, it is a big state, with its own policy, and it has its own national interest.
– Jalal Talabani
The victory of the new Iraq will be the triumph of freedom over hate, of decency over intolerance.
– Jalal Talabani
The Zarqawi group is trying to sow dissension and civil war but they will not succeed. I don't fear civil war in Iraq.
– Jalal Talabani
There is a kind of sympathy with the Americans who are looked upon as liberators.
– Jalal Talabani
There is no basis for the phantom claims that the Kurds intend to form their own independent state.
– Jalal Talabani
Therefore, it is right to work for ending this regime whose hands are red with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
– Jalal Talabani
These criminals who come from abroad have declared a war of extermination or destruction on Iraq.
– Jalal Talabani
They are Iraqi and American forces, and they perform their mission, the mission of cleaning the area from terrorists.
– Jalal Talabani