“You hardly find any military base in distant areas from the [Syria] cities unless it’s an airport or something like this, but most of the military bases or centers within inhabited areas.”

[ Jihadists] are going to be against you sooner or later.

I believe that the United States is not genuine regarding having a cessation of violence in Syria.

For Turkey, they think that if the Muslim Brotherhood take over the rest of the region, they will be very comfortable, they will be very happy, they will make sure that their political future is guaranteed.

I don’t want to talk about methods of killing. But what is the difference between a bomb worn on the body and one dropped from an airplane? Both of them kill people.

It is not my democracy as a person; it is our democracy as a society.

It would be a mistake to link anything that Israel does to a certain circumstance. And it is a mistake to feel comfortable in any circumstance just because Israel did not act on it.

People do not only live on interests; they also live on beliefs, especially in very ideological areas. Unless you understand the ideological aspect of the region, you cannot understand what is happening.

We wouldn’t have withstood for two years and a half. We would have disintegration of the army, disintegration of the whole institution in the state.

You cannot reform your society or institution without opening your mind. So the core issue is how to open the mind, the whole society, and this means everybody in society including everyone.

It is even more so when it comes to Iraq, which is a large Arab country with scientific, material, and human resources and is able to accomplish, at the least, what Lebanon accomplished, and more.

From the first day I took the decision as President to defend my country. So, who killed ? That’s another question.

You should expect everything. Not necessarily through the government, the governments are not the only player in [Middle East] region.

In the initiative that we issued at the beginning of year 2013 we said every party with no exceptions as long as they give up their armaments.

From Russia for example, we have political support, which is different from the cooperation. We have cooperation for 60 years now, but now we have political support.

“Winning” is a subjective word, but we are making advancement. This is the correct word, because winning for some people is when you finish completely.

If you ask Americans whether they’ve been successful at sealing the border with Mexico, they’ll tell you that it’s a very difficult proposition.

I’m getting to the place where I can sort of go through airports now and there’s no hysteria. I can go places alone even. But at the same time, if you get in trouble, you can find somebody in your age group who might recognize you.

In most instances, at all costs, do NOT check a bag. Especially during the holiday season.

For one who has an interest in the body as text, airports are treasure troves of information.