Ahmed Chalabi Quotes

We’re trying to create the first democracy in the Arab world.

I'm absolutely confident that the actions we took in Iraq are influencing reformers and freedom lovers in the greater Middle East. And I believe that you're going to see the rise of democracy in many countries in the broader Middle East, which will lay the foundation for peace.

I believe the democratic transformation in Iraq will lead to change in Middle East.

If the Egyptian people can create a democracy in the heart of the Arab world, it will be a more significant contribution to civilization than the great pyramids.

We got rid of a terrible dictator. We gave the Iraqi people an opportunity for a new life under a representative form of government.

I believe democracy will succeed in Tunisia, but I also believe that it will succeed in the other Arab Spring countries.

We believe that Lebanon has been the first real experience for all the Arabs.

We Arabs have always been talking about America and the flaws in its democracy. But it’s high time that we talked about our own illnesses.

I think we have to pay attention to the Arab masses not just in the Gulf States, but also in the hinterlands.

We will be changing the regime of Iraq for the good of the iraqi people.

The fundamental question facing Iraq government is whether or not we will stand with reformers across the region. It's really the task. And we're going to stand with this government.

President Bush said it's now time for a change in Iraq and he wants them to have a Western-style democracy like ours. So right now in Iraq, the economy is collapsing, businessmen are corrupt, and Hussein wants his son to take over as president. Sounds like mission accomplished.

Maybe Iraq will come back and become the dominant power among Arab countries. That seems to me as conceivable.

We didn't put a single boot on the ground, and [Muammar] Gaddafi was deposed. The Libyans turned out for one of the most successful, fairest elections that any Arab country has had. They elected moderate leaders.

We can remove Saddam because that could start a chain reaction in the Arab world that would be very healthy.

Look at the results of regime change in Iraq. You can't possibly claim that it was successful.

The problem with what we call the 'Arab spring' is that these are very nationalistic experiences. Tunisians are concerned with Tunisia, Egyptians concerned with Egypt and so on.

The times of Arab nationalism and unity are gone forever.

Even when you cherish democratic ideals, it is never easy to turn them into effective democratic institutions. This process will take decades.

We must consider teaching the Egyptian revolution in schools.

As a matter of fact, it's in our interests that we help reformers across the Middle East achieve their objectives. This is the fundamental challenge of the 21st century.

Iraq's always been very secular.

If you know anything about Islamic civilization, or about the contemporary Middle East, about the sociology and the anthropology of the people who live there, and their recent history, and their religion, and their motivation and everything, then you realize that changing Iraq into a democracy is not going to happen. It's just not going to happen.

You cannot apply your high standards to a country [Egypt] burdened with decades of autocratic rule. Our democracy is still in its infancy.

So in a sense, that little war in the Levant had a horrendous effect in terms of the stability of countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, over the long term. Because once again, it proved to Muslims that their governments couldn't protect them and would side with the enemy.