A greater international role is important to lift some of the burden from the shoulders of the United States.
A military coup needs a sacrifice and courage that you can't find in an army without morale.
After that we need a government with all parties, with Allawi, and our brother Sunnis. We insist all Iraqis have a role.
All I wanted was to be a university teacher.
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.
As president of Iraq, I shall strive to represent the diversity of a country that has too often in the past denied difference.
But I am feeling as Iraqi, and my duty is to work as an Iraqi for all Iraqis regardless of their nationalities.
But while the new Iraq is open to all, there must be no underestimating our determination to vanquish terrorism.
Conciliation is not capitulation, nor is compromise to be deemed equivalent to imbalanced concession.
Currently the international and regional situation does not permit for the foundation of an independent Kurdish state in north of Iraq.
Democracies, unlike dictatorships, are forgiving and generous, but they cannot survive unless they fight.
Every human must take responsibility for his actions.
First of all, elections were held in Iraq and 8.5 million Iraqis participated in them.
First of all, I would like to say, that all those who carry out suicide operations are not Iraqis.
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.
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.
I believe the democratic transformation in Iraq will lead to change in Middle East.
I don't think that Kurds will abandon their aim of establishing an independent Kurdish state.
I expected that one day when Iraq becomes a country where citizens are equal that a Kurd would be a president, and why not?
I shall stand for freedom of thought and expression in a place where it has been trampled and penalized.
I swore to respect the Iraqi democratic regime and the Iraqi laws.
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.
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.
I think there is an exaggeration about the strength of Islamist movements here.
I want to be clear on the subject of Syrian relations. All of us in the governing council are friends of Syria.
I will try my best to convince my colleagues that we must have a comprehensive policy towards those who are fighting the regime.
I'm proud of having Turkey and Iran as neighbors.
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.
In Iraq, it is impossible, because you have Kurds, Arabs, Shia, Sunni, Christians - such a kind of mosaic society.
In my opinion, Iraqi forces, the popular forces and government forces, are now ready to end the insurgency and end this terrorism.
In my opinion, Iraqi forces, the popular forces and government forces, are now ready to end the insurgency and this terrorism.
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.
Iraq has regained its independence and held democratic elections for the first time in its history, in order to elect a National Iraqi committee.
Iraq is not occupied, but there are foreign forces on its soil, which is different.
It is not Iran, it cannot be an Islamic society.
It is virtually impossible to demand the withdrawal of allied forces from Iraq. We will do so when the Iraqi army is established.
Justice for the major perpetrators cannot be separated from the vindication of the rights of the individual victim.
Military confrontation is not a suitable alternative in confronting terror and current security threats.
My door will always be open to those who genuinely renounce violence and seek peaceful accommodation into our nascent democracy.
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.
Now we are living in a country with a very democratic climate.
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.
Our gratitude to the American people is immense and we should never be embarrassed to express it.
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.
Rather, we ask that the uniqueness of the Iraqi experience be recognized and our newly restored sovereignty respected.
Self-determination could mean independence, confederacy, federal and autonomy.
That is why I proposed, in my first speech as head of state, an amnesty for those who have been led astray by terrorism.
The Arab world must understand and recognise the reality of Iraq.
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.
The central government will be for all where everyone will participate and offer their services according to their abilities and energy.
The first thing we are thinking of doing after forming a national unity government is to build stability and security and to terminate terrorism.
The justice of our cause must be reflected in the manner in which we rectify the crimes of the past.
The Kurdish people have the right of self-determination like every other nation in the world.
The Kurdish people welcome the no-fly zone protection, contrary to the Iraqi regime that is against it.
The president is representing the sovereignty of Iraq. He has the right to oversee all common issues of Iraq.
The regional plots that pushed some Kurdish parties against other Kurdish parties are about to come to an end.
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.
The victory of the new Iraq will be the triumph of freedom over hate, of decency over intolerance.
The Zarqawi group is trying to sow dissension and civil war but they will not succeed. I don't fear civil war in Iraq.
There is a kind of sympathy with the Americans who are looked upon as liberators.
There is no basis for the phantom claims that the Kurds intend to form their own independent state.
Therefore, it is right to work for ending this regime whose hands are red with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
These criminals who come from abroad have declared a war of extermination or destruction on Iraq.
They are Iraqi and American forces, and they perform their mission, the mission of cleaning the area from terrorists.
They cannot have Islamic government. In Iraq, Islamic government is impossible.
This is the first time a Kurd has been freely elected to be the president of an Arab country.
This is the first time that Ankara has confirmed the concept of federalism publicly.
This will be Iraq for all without discrimination among Iraqi citizens, or ethnic or sectarian discrimination.
We are not single people coming to power as individuals. We are representing huge forces of this country.
We are trying to build - as soon as possible - our military forces.
We believe that an Iraqi founding national assembly, freely elected, must decide the future of Iraq.
We can depend on this militia for a while, then send them to the army or back to their jobs.
We cannot wait for years and years of terrorist activity because we don't have enough government forces. The people must defend themselves.
We cannot wait for years and years of terrorist activity because we haven't enough government forces.
We completely persist that the regime in Iraq should be democratic.
We do not have one party which got the majority. We have different groups, different parties.
We do not oppose the presence of Turkish troops if they are around five or six thousand soldiers.
We have a country which we can say is unique in the Middle East.
We have to renew ties with Turkey to remove the chill in relations in the past.
We must acknowledge that for scores of years the Iraqis have offered martyrs and victims but have not been able to change the regime.
We must not shy away from this support to eliminate the dictatorship and bring about a democratic, federal, pluralistic rule in Iraq.
We must provide all kinds of freedom, personal and economic, to all Iraqis. I will fight for that.
We need to ignore some petty or nonessential or marginal issues in order to achieve national unity for Iraq, including the unity of the opposition.
We on our part have reaffirmed our commitment to the unity, independence, sovereignty and security of Iraq.
We support the principle of democratic change, even with American assistance.
We wish to strengthen our ties with Turkey on the basis of constructive and prudent dialogue and mutual respect.
We, in turn, will work with our neighbors to ensure that Iraq is never again a haven for terrorists.
What I stated was that the Kurdish people are ready to welcome American forces in order to protect the Kurdish people in the region.
Wishful thinking is one thing, and reality another.
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