“The meeting is called by the U.S. to give their vision of the interim Iraqi authority. It will be a one-day meeting. And the U.S. will present its vision, and there will be a statement after the meeting.”

The Kurds’ achievement was outstanding, both militarily and diplomatically.

The fight against corruption is successful if you prevent corruption taking place in the first place.

Maliki saw Islamic State as a way to exert pressure. If I am not re-elected, terror will befall you – that was his message.

The Americans stabbed in the back the forces that worked to bring about the collapse of Saddam’s regime and wanted to keep Iraq a sovereign country.

There is no Kurdish state. But that shouldn’t prevent the Kurds from continuing to develop their own institutions. Still, the best thing for them would be to remain a part of Iraq, but in return we must treat them with respect – their nationality, their language and their culture.

Not because Iraq will be an aggressive state against them, but rather by the example that will be set by a successful federal democratic state in Iraq.

And we are grateful to the American young men and women who are risking their lives to give the Iraqi people this chance, this dream of democracy in Iraq now.

We want to be the masters of ourselves and to carry our responsibilities in this region.

The view that we hold in Iraq now is this – that democracy is associated with elections. I believe that elections are possible.

Iraq will not allow any action on its soil that could harm the U.S. We don’t want any action from our soil to target our neighbors.

Now, we need a joint military leadership so that the Kurds and the army can retake Mosul.

Already, Islamic State has broad support in many cities there. And when they get there, it will once again come as a great surprise to everybody.

The fight against corruption is not bound to high-profile arrests and high-profile investigations.

Baathism in Iraq equals Nazism in Germany.

Many Sunnis joined Islamic State because they felt they were being treated poorly.

Democracy in Iraq will be an example that the Arab population will look to with great interest. And some Arab governments are concerned about democracy in Iraq.

Most of the people in the workforce today will spend some years when they also have children and family responsibilities.

I communicate mostly via e-mail and receive hundreds of e-mails a day.

I long for the day my sisters will rise, and occupy the sphere to which they are called by their high nature and destiny.

A man usually values that most for which he has labored; he uses that most frugally which he has toiled hour by hour and day by day to acquire.

I was taught to think the next week or month or year will only get better than it is today. So I just keep waiting to see how great it will get!

I’ll be making music ’til the day I die. I’ve done all kinds of stuff, and more is coming.

At the end of the day, that’s our sole purpose and our sole reason for existing, is to love somebody else.

What I think we need to do is infuse everyday and every action with the kind of values we hope will be in the future, with kindness, with nurturing, with dreams, ambition, using your talents, not resorting to violence, other forms of conflict resolution, with humor, with poetry, with music.