“President Bush is an intelligent man. He is not going to declare an economic war against Iraq . [...] I admire your extraordinary efforts to rebuild your country. I know you need funds. We understand that, and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. But we have no opinion on Arab-Arab conflicts like your border disagreement with Kuwait .” KnowsMenNeedsShouldWarCountryAmericaOpportunityPresidentEffortOpinionEconomicLike YouConflictShould HaveIntelligentExtraordinaryIraqAdmireBordersFundPresident BushDisagreementIntelligent ManKuwait Author:April Glaspie
“If they succeed in creating an inclusive structure in virtually any peaceful form, Iraq succeeds. If they fail, the U.S.-led coalition fails almost regardless of its military success and that of the new Iraqi forces, and Iraq will move towards division, paralysis, civil conflict and/or a new strongman.” IfsMovingFormForceFailingMilitaryCivilizationSucceedConflictCreatingStructureIraqPeacefulDivisionCoalitionsParalysis Author:Anthony H. Cordesman
“Iraq is a manufactured conflict for the sake of geopolitical dominance in the area.” ConflictAreasSakeIraqDominanceGeopolitical Author:Janeane Garofalo
“An idea is growing in foreign policy circles in Washington ... that there is no turning back. We are stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan for 25 to 40 years, we are embedded in our prideful unilateralism, and nothing can return us to more traditional American values and principles of action. The hubristic creators of this "inevitability" planned it this way. ... Their failures in Iraq have not stopped the fanatic, power-hungry neoconservatives. ... The hard-liners who dominate this administration ... have led us to eternal conflict with Muslims.” WayYearsIdeasWarHardActionReligionValuesPrinciplesPowerGrowingPolicyReturnConflictEternalIraqCreatorCirclesStuckHungryTraditionalAdministrationAfghanistanForeign PolicyFanaticsEmbeddedInevitabilityAmerican ValuesNo Turning BackPower HungryUnilateralism Author:Georgie Anne Geyer
“As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time. Since the Iraq conflict began, the Army has been pressing ahead to produce the armor necessary at a rate that they believe - it's a greatly expanded rate from what existed previously, but a rate that they believe is the rate that is all that can be accomplished at this moment.” KnowsWantBelieveHas BeensWarMomentsMightWishProduceConflictArmyRateIraqAccomplishedArmor Author:Donald Rumsfeld
“You don't have to be Dave Halberstam to see that the American role in both conflicts [the Iraq war and the Vietnam conflict] is characterized by arrogance, ignorance and self-delusion at the highest levels of government.” WarSelfGovernmentLevelsRolesIgnoranceConflictHighestIraqArroganceDelusionVietnamIraq WarDaveSelf Delusion Author:Jonathan Yardley
“Every time we have come to the end of a conflict, somehow we have persuaded ourselves that the nature of mankind and the nature of the world have changed on an enduring basis and so we have dismantle our military and intelligence capabilities. My hope is that as we wind down in Iraq and whatever the level of our commitment in Afghanistan, that we not forget the basic nature of humankind has not changed.” WorldEndsForgetLevelsMankindMilitaryChangedWindConflictCommitmentBasesEndureIraqAfghanistanCapabilityHumankindNature Of Man Author:Robert M. Gates
“The problem with representation in the media has very much to do with the conflicts between groups in the world. If you talk about Iraq, al Qaeda, Darfur, even Taiwan, representation is a part of that problem.” IfsWorldProblemGroupsMediaConflictIraqAlsRepresentationAl QaedaTaiwanDarfur Author:Arthur Dong
“In the remaining months, we should focus on achieving more robust international involvement in training of Iraqi soldiers, police officers, judges, teachers, and doctors - all key elements needed to end the sectarian and civil conflict and build Iraq's future.” ShouldEndsFocusTeacherAchieveJudgingKeysMonthsNeededConflictElementsTrainingDoctorsPoliceSoldierInternationalIraqOfficersInvolvementPolice OfficerRobust Author:John Olver
“The invasion of Iraq was not an unprecedented event; it really was the natural extension of a conflict with Iraq that began on August 2, 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait and occupied Kuwait, which was a major oil supplier to the United States.” StatesNaturalUnitedUnited StatesEventsConflictMajorsIraqOilExtensionsInvasionAugustUnprecedentedKuwaitSuppliers Author:Michael Klare
“We're dealing with such enormous problems today that we have no other choice but to work together. If Iraq fails, if a religious civil war breaks out and the neighboring states are drawn into this conflict, if the Kurds declare independence and al-Qaida takes over an entire province - that's when the consequences will be dramatic.” IfsWarStatesProblemTodayTogetherChoicesReligiousBreakFailingConflictConsequenceIndependenceIraqEnormousDramaticCivil WarWorking TogetherAlsProvincesBreak OutKurds Author:Zalmay Khalilzad
“The Iraq War was the first conflict in western history in which an imperialist war was massively protested against before it had even been launched.” FirstsWarConflictWesternIraqIraq War Author:Noam Chomsky
“Vietnam is a jungle. You had jungle warfare. Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, you have sand. [There is no need to worry about a protracted war because] from a historical basis, Middle East conflicts do not last a long time.” NeedsLongWarLastsWorryMiddleConflictLong TimeBasesHistoricalIraqEastSandVietnamMiddle EastWarfareJungleArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisKuwaitMiddle East Conflict Author:Dan Quayle
“In every major war we have fought in the 19th and 20th centuries. Americans have been asked to pay higher taxes - and nonessential programs have been cut - to support the military effort. Yet during this Iraq war, taxes have been lowered and domestic spending has climbed. In contrast to World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, for most Americans this conflict has entailed no economic sacrifice. The only people really sacrificing for this war are the troops and their families.” PeopleWorldHas BeensWarEffortPaySupportCuttingSacrificeEconomicCenturyMilitaryHigherConflictTaxesMajorsProgramIraqSpendingWar Of The WorldsVietnamWorld War IiContrastWorld War ITroops20th CenturyKoreanIraq WarKorean War Author:Robert Hormats
“The US is often the first to call for transparency and integrity in the reporting of other governments. It has never provided transparency or integrity in its reporting on the war in Iraq. It has downplayed the growth of the insurgency and other civil conflicts. It exaggerated progress in the development of Iraqi forces, and has reported meaningless macroecomic figures claiming 'progress' in the face of steadily deteriorating economic conditions for most Iraqis outside the Kurdish security zone, and does so in the face of almost incredible incompetence by USAID and the Corps of Engineers.” FirstsDoeWarGovernmentFacesForceGrowthProgressEconomicConditionsSecurityFiguresDevelopmentIntegrityConflictIncrediblesIraqZoneMeaninglessEngineersTransparencyIncompetenceExaggeratedInsurgencyDeterioratingKurdishUsaid Author:Anthony H. Cordesman
“The intellectual and moral failures common to America's general officer corps in Vietnam and Iraq constitute a crisis in American generalship. Any explanation that fixes culpability on individuals is insufficient. No one leader, civilian or military, caused failure in Vietnam or Iraq. Different military and civilian leaders in the two conflicts produced similar results. In both conflicts, the general officer corps designed to advise policymakers, prepare forces and conduct operations failed to perform its intended functions.” TwoDifferentAmericaIndividualForceResultsCommonLeaderMoralMilitaryConflictIntellectualFunctionCrisisIraqOperationsExplanationOfficersVietnamAdviseCiviliansInsufficientMoral FailureCulpability Author:Paul Yingling
“I have witnessed firsthand the anguish of this humanitarian tragedy - in Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and other conflict and post-conflict zones. The destruction of lives and hopes, the emotional trauma, and the economic, social, and political marginalization of the displaced, the human insecurity, with real and potentially devastating consequences over generations, in ever-widening arenas of conflict. We can and must ensure the human rights of the displaced. That begins by making their voices heard.” HumansRealPoliticalSocialVoiceRightsGenerationsHeardEconomicEmotionalConflictConsequenceDestructionTragedyHuman RightsIraqTraumaHumanitarianPostsZoneInsecuritySyriaAnguishPakistanPalestineArenaMarginalizationEmotional Trauma Author:Queen Noor of Jordan
“I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees. Today, as you are aware, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan and Iraq are being overwhelmed by those fleeing the conflict in Syria, often with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Many are severely tortured - abused women and their traumatized children whose husbands, fathers, and brothers have been killed or permanently disabled.” ChildrenLongHas BeensTodayFatherBrotherHusbandConflictClothesLong TimeIraqPalestinianSyriaRefugeeOverwhelmedTurkeysIsraeliDisabledJordanFleeingLebanonAbused WomenBeing OverwhelmedFather And BrotherPalestinian Refugees Author:Queen Noor of Jordan
“The Israeli-Palestinian problem becomes very acute with Gaza dominated by Hamas. With the possibility of the conflict escalating, not only in terms of Gaza but also the Hezbollah and Lebanon, with the continuing crisis in Iraq, which is very dynamic and unpredictable and which could get out of hand, and maybe even escalate and enlarge.” ProblemHandsTermPossibilityConflictCrisisIraqPalestinianContinuingUnpredictableIsraeliGazaLebanonHamasHezbollahEscalating Author:Zbigniew Brzezinski
“The kind of problem that America faces in Iraq is a little bit the kind of problem that Israel faced in dealing with Hezbollah. If the conflict, the theater of conflict enlarges, it's going to become more and more absorbing and more and more costly.” IfsKindLittlesProblemAmericaFacesBitsConflictLittle BitTheaterIraqIsraelAbsorbingHezbollah Author:Zbigniew Brzezinski
“I am still covering conflict to some degree. I was back in Iraq. I've covered quite a bit of the Israel and Palestine. But I'm not doing it with the kind of intensity I was before and I'm not seeking out the front line and the kind danger that comes with being at the edge of the war the way I used to.” WayKindStillsWarUsedBitsLinesFrontsDangerConflictDegreesIraqEdgesSeekingIsraelCoveredIntensityPalestineCovering Author:Peter van Agtmael
“The truth is that I oppose the Iraq war, just as I opposed the Vietnam War, because these two conflicts have weakened the U.S. and diminished our standing in the world and our national security.” WorldTwoWarSecurityTruth IsConflictStandingIraqVietnamNational SecurityVietnam WarIraq WarInvading Iraq Author:George McGovern
“One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards, had a negative effect on the viewing public. The military in Iraq specifically banned the photographing of wounded soldiers and coffins, thus sanitizing this terrible and bloody conflict.” WarEffectsMilitaryHigherTerribleLessonsConflictNegativeSoldierIraqVietnamBloodyWoundedVietnam WarCoffinsBannedDepictionLesson LearnedWounded Soldier Author:Walter Dean Myers
“That's what separates out American democracy from dictators and horrible governments across the world and the reason why that works is that we have a president that can consult with congress before making big decisions. That doesn't just make a unilateral decision to go in for military conflict.” WorldReasonBigsGovernmentPresidentDecisionDemocracyMilitaryConflictCongressIraqHorribleReason WhyDictatorAmerican DemocracyBig Decisions Author:Charles R. Chamberlain
“We've given Iraq a chance. Now they need to stand on their own. This is a 1,400-year-old conflict, and unless we are prepared to bankrupt ourselves spending another 1,400 years policing it, we need to stay out.” NeedsYearsGivenChanceMilitaryConflictPreparedIraqSpending Author:Rick Nolan