“Are Iraqis ready to carry the responsibility for their country? Is Iraq ready to be its own master?”

Winning back their trust is the primary task of the new government. That will be difficult, but it is possible.

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.

The battle against terrorism is not only a military fight but primarily a battle of information.

All Iraqis can unite to defeat terrorism and can unite to rebuild the country.

You know the most important thing the Americans did for Iraq apart from liberating the country from Saddam was helping Iraq reduce its debt.

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

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

The Kurds know that they won’t achieve their own state by force of arms but through international recognition. And they have certainly heard what the German foreign minister said in connection with the arms deliveries.

What was said before is not important.

We are not panicking because we know that Islamic State cannot conquer the capital.

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.

Islamic State is following a clear strategy. First, it wants to solidify its power in Iraq and Syria. Then, their fighters will try to advance to Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

If they are successful, that will be seen as their next great triumph. And then, their target will be Jordan, where things will be easy for them.

European governments recognized this and abandoned their resistance to weapons deliveries. Germany, too, acted correctly.

The United States worked very hard to reduce 80 percent of Iraqi debt.

We need a united front against Islamic State and Assad happens to be the decisive power that can fight them. But the situation is preposterous because we also have to respect the calls for change. I would be in favor of a dignified change.

The United States is showing minimal and diminishing interest in the Muslim world. They now have to confront their own problems. The old excuses are gone. The old justifications are gone and therefore the anger of people is turning increasingly against their own rulers.

Black history is being comfortable in your own skin no matter what color you are. Black history makes me proud of where I came from and where I am going in life.

There are not a lot of paths through the woods for someone who sings, plays the cello, and wants to tour on a human scale and create change in the world. I’m on my own path. It’s pretty awesome.

I am convinced that it is my own fault. Verdi is one of those composers.

My own parents were touchy-feely.

I feel like I’m away for much of my own life.

But as we will see, even these things are hard to do on your own, and in reality require wholesale social and political changes.

My family owns a music store in Claremont, California, called The Claremont Folk Music Center.