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.”

“Iraq is not occupied, but there are foreign forces on its soil, which is different.”

“All I wanted was to be a university teacher.”

“Our gratitude to the American people is immense and we should never be embarrassed to express it.”

“The Kurdish people welcome the no-fly zone protection, contrary to the Iraqi regime that is against it.”

“We believe that an Iraqi founding national assembly, freely elected, must decide the future of Iraq.”

“My door will always be open to those who genuinely renounce violence and seek peaceful accommodation into our nascent democracy.”

“A military coup needs a sacrifice and courage that you can't find in an army without morale.”

“Military confrontation is not a suitable alternative in confronting terror and current security threats.”

“The Kurdish people have the right of self-determination like every other nation in the world.”

“Every human must take responsibility for his actions.”

“The justice of our cause must be reflected in the manner in which we rectify the crimes of the past.”

“Democracies, unlike dictatorships, are forgiving and generous, but they cannot survive unless they fight.”

“We must provide all kinds of freedom, personal and economic, to all Iraqis. I will fight for that.”

“Our plan is to struggle against terrorism and have security for the country and help draft a democratic constitution as soon as possible.”

“Rather, it is through conciliation and compromise that we are building a fair Iraq, a just state for all its peoples.”

“I shall stand for freedom of thought and expression in a place where it has been trampled and penalized.”

“This will be Iraq for all without discrimination among Iraqi citizens, or ethnic or sectarian discrimination.”

“Justice for the major perpetrators cannot be separated from the vindication of the rights of the individual victim.”

“Self-determination could mean independence, confederacy, federal and autonomy.”