Heads Of State

"In Burma, Than Shwe heads a military dictatorship that has been in power since 1962. His regime stands out from those of other dictatorships for its use of forced labor in support of both infrastructure projects and for military actions that the Burmese government is taking against ethnic minorities. Than Shwe is the commander-in-chief of an army that is different from the armies of most nations in that it exists as a nation within a nation. The Burmese military, known as the Tatmadaw, runs its own health care system, its own educational system, its own businesses and firms, and its own banks. It is no longer possible to rise in Burmese society without being a senior member of the military."

"The Whiteman lords it over us in all walks of life not because he happens to be white but because he is better organized than we are, that is his secret."

"Nothing can be achieved anywhere and in any field without good Organization."

"Some of these Salisbury prisoners used to say plainly that they were better off where they were than outside. They would argue they could never hope to find work, they could be harassed by the Police for passes, tax receipts and many other things. A society that drives some of its citizens to think that way is rotten and needs burying."

"If the Government cannot without demoralizing so badly it's own people, then that government is no good and it must give way to people who can."

"When people understand a cause, become prepared to suffer for that cause and see glory and honour in such suffering, it is indeed just impossible to suppress them or the cause they stand for."

"African are people not cattle to be herded together and driven here and there."

"I would ask which was more important, to prepare someone meals and beds or to share them? Was it not common sense that the person who prepare your meals and made your bed and looked after you was controlling your life? How stupid it was for everyone to say you may control my life but I will not sit at the same table with you because you are stinking or because you are black"

"People see him as a hero. Not just in Zimbabwe or here in Zambia but across the whole of southern Africa. It's no good demonising Robert Mugabe."

"The inability of those in power to still the voices of their own consciences is a great force leading to change."

"As we welcome Zambia to this community and extend our congratulations to the people of Zambia, we wish to express our personal admiration to you, Mr. President, for the vital role you played during the recent years of preparation for this joyous occasion. We especially admire your success in achieving mutual cooperation and understanding among the different racial elements in Zambia. We sincerely hope that this achievement will be taken as a lesson and example by the entire world. Our interest in your example is greatly heightened by our own efforts to eliminate racial discrimination in the United States."

"For a long time, I have led my people in the shouts of KWACHA (the dawn). We have been shouting it in the darkness, now there is the Grey light of dawn on the horizon and I know that Zambia Shall be Free!"

"If you drive an animal into a corner and torment it, you may expect that in it's fear and rage it will slash back at you."

"Mr. President and I also had direct and open exchange of views on a matter that we may differ, especially on matters related to religion and human rights. And our approach is that we would increase our dialogue in order to have a better understanding of each other. And we are also determined not to let those differences afflict our overall, larger interest."

"One of the things (that I regretted the most was) that has an impact on these two decades and more is what happened after we (Sudan) signed the comprehensive peace agreement (with South Sudan). We signed this agreement. We genuinely implemented it, and we gave our brothers in South Sudan more than is entitled to them according to the peace agreement. I fought for years in South Sudan for the unity of Sudan. I was a commander in the fields, fighting for the unity of Sudan. As a politician, I worked very, very hard in order to maintain the unity of our country. That was my aim. Of course, the result came negative to what I was looking forward to happen after all these efforts, after all these years of hard work and labor. It's one of the things that I forget because Sudan was divided in two."

"Of the dictators included in this book, the first three, Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Kim Jong-il of North Korea, and Than Shwe of Burma, stand out as being a cut above the others in terms of venality. Bashir is the only dictator currently in power who is responsible for the killing of hundreds of thousands of people. While the media occasionally cover the massacres in Darfur in western Sudan, they usually do so in the context of it being a “humanitarian tragedy,” while Bashir himself has remained little known and has generally escaped condemnation. In fact, he has the power to prevent the destruction of villages in Darfur, just as he had the power to prevent the killing and enslavement of innocent people in southern Sudan. In both cases, he has been an enthusiastic supporter of the slaughter."

"M. President, the sad truth is, what is happening in Sudan is in large part the result of a lack of accountability for previous abuses. Many of those involved in today’s conflict committed war crimes in the past and were never held accountable. Maybe things would be different if the former dictator al Bashir had been tried at the Hague. Maybe the SAF would have reformed if high ranking officers been held accountable for atrocities. Maybe the RSF would not exist if the Janjaweed had been accountable for their crimes in Darfur. Maybe General Hemedti had not be getting flown on an Emirati jet and welcomed by African heads of state— things might be different."

"The confrontation would be better and cheaper for us than to sign that we accept U.N. forces in Darfur."

"Leave Saddam in power? So that he would be free to continue killing, free to invade his neighbors, so that he would be free to — I am sorry — develop nuclear weapons? No."

"Is the Iraqi state succeeding? I think there are some prospects for this country to be moving in the right direction. But the legacies of the past, the problems are really, really monumental... We need to deliver. Otherwise we will not be able to justify what we do in the eyes of our public. And public opinion does matter in Iraq. People speak their minds. People are engaged, are interested... Life is coming back... Every time I go out of the presidential palace in Baghdad — and I do try to go out as often as I can — I do see normalcy coming back, more and more. I do think there is a window of opportunity — it should be cherished. We’ve not had it like this for a long, long time... It’s precious, but precarious."

"Fixing Iraq would go a long way towards fixing much of the Middle East."

"I'm realistic, but at the same time, I'm optimistic. I believe we can overcome the problems. I do not shrink from the level of interest and political economy of the violence that has been caused by successive crises over the past ten years. These interests have prevented the progress of Iraq and the welfare of the citizens, but I am optimistic to the children of the country that they will understand the depth of the problems."

"Al-Qaeda is a virus and it is spreading. If we fail to stop it, we will pay a very heavy price."

"The drug trade does not function well with a strong state, or a healthy state. It tries to corrupt the police force, it tries to corrupt the judiciary, and the executive. And drug trafficking thrives in a weak state."

"Ruling Yemen is hard. I always say it’s like dancing on the heads of snakes"

"The Yemeni people are well aware that Saleh and the Houthis did not turn against the government in a military coup, but turned against Yemen. Houthis arrest all the activists and throw them in jails illegally, and whereabouts of some of those detainees are unknown [he said noting the rebels arrest any activist who expresses his opinion in any means of social network will be held by them, and they arrest thousands of people]. They should work on building trust, release the detainees, stop media incitement and economic pressure, as they (the rebels) are attempting to tamper with the central bank and the future of the Yemeni people, without knowing the consequences of what they are doing."

"Yemen is an essential partner of the United States of America and the international community in combating terror."

"You should continue carrying your arms, ready to sacrifice your lives in defence against these belligerent attacks"

"Either we come to mutual understanding about Machu Picchu, or we just have to mark them as treasure hunters."

"The United States, ever since its founding fathers, has had an ideal, a mission to the world. In the '40s, it sacrificed the lives of many young people to achieve the freedom of the world. Nowadays, we need to focus on democracy and free trade."

"And thirdly, [we have] to defeat the absurd pantheist ideologies that believe that the walls are gods and the air is a god. In the end, to return to such primitive forms of religiosity where one is told, “don’t touch this hill because it is an Apu and is filled with millennia-old spirit,” and who knows what else. Well, if we reach that point, we wouldn’t do anything, much less mining. Don’t touch those fish because they are creatures of god and expressions of the god Poseidon. We would return to this, let’s say, primitive animism. Right? I think that we need more education [of these people], but that is long-term work that just can’t be fixed right away."

"With the killing of Hariri, Iran had unofficially declared war on Saudi Arabia, just as the kingdom itself was feeling fragile, grappling with the wave of al-Qaeda bombings. In August 2005, King Fahd died and Crown Prince Abdallah, de facto ruler for a decade, became king. Despite the proxy war unfolding in Iraq and the killing of his protégé in Lebanon, King Abdallah tried to uphold the détente with Iran. He even hosted Ahmadinejad in Saudi Arabia a few times. But Iran was getting increasingly bolder in Iraq: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was funding and arming militias, evading US sanctions by siphoning off Iraqi oil, and planting their friends in key positions in ministries. King Abdallah then felt deeply betrayed when it was revealed that Iran had a secret nuclear program, one it had developed during the period of détente with Saudi Arabia. In 2008, after a political tussle in Lebanon about Hezbollah’s growing power, there was a showdown in the heart of Beirut between Hezbollah and Sunni militiamen. Everyone still had guns in Lebanon, but no one had a trained fighting force like Hezbollah. Within hours, hundreds of its fighters took over large parts of the city and routed their opponents. The political balance of the country had been tilted in favor of Iran and Syria. King Abdallah would soon begin to rail against Iran and call on the United States “to cut off the head of the snake.”"

"For six years you have been running away, fearing confrontation. Let me assure you that you shouldn’t be afraid. After six years, it has become clear that the lie is behind you and the grave stands before you. You were created by Britain, and you are protected by America."

"I talked about my belief in Christianity and the role religion played in my life. I hoped he would reciprocate by talking about his faith. He wasn't in a sharing mood. In a last-gasp effort, I said, "Before you leave, may I show you my ranch?" He nodded. A few minutes later, the crown prince, flowing robes and all, was climbing into a Ford F-250 pickup. Then he, Gamal, and I took off for a tour of the property. I pointed out the different kinds of hardwood trees, the native prairie grasses that Laura had planted, and the grazing cattle. The crown prince sat silently. I wasn't making much headway. Then we reached a remote part of the property. A lone hen turkey was standing in the road. I stopped the truck. The bird stayed put. "What is that?" the crown prince asked. I told him it was a turkey. "Benjamin Franklin loved the turkey so much he wanted it to be America's national bird," I said. Suddenly I felt the crown prince's hand grab my arm. "My brother," he said, "it is a sign from Allah. This is a good omen." I've never understood the significance of the bird, but I felt the tension between us begin to melt. When we got back to the house, our aides were surprised to say we were ready for lunch. The next day, I got a call from Mother and Dad. The crown prince had stopped in Houston to visit them. Mother said he had tears in his eyes as he recounted his time in Crawford and talked about what we could achieve together. For the rest of my presidency, my relationship with the crown prince- soon to be king- was extremely close. I had never seen a hen turkey on that part of the property before, and I haven't seen one since."

"The crown prince is a modest, gentle, almost shy man. He speaks softly, doesn't drink alcohol, and prays five times a day. In eight years, I never saw him without his traditional robes."

"When the Head is Rotten, It Affects the Whole Body"

"Cut off the head of the snake"

"We state with a unified voice that religions through which Almighty God sought to bring happiness to mankind should not be turned into instruments to cause misery,"

"We should not let the enemies interfere in the Islamic countries relations including Iran and Saudi Arabia."

"In beloved Iraq, blood is flowing between brothers, in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation, and abhorrent sectarianism threatens a civil war."

"Fanaticism and extremism cannot grow on an earth whose soil is embedded in the spirit of tolerance, moderation, and balance. Good governance can eliminate injustice, destitution and poverty."

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not a slave of colonial forces like you and others. … Do not indulge yourself in things you have no business with! The lie is before you and the grave is in front of you!"

"Allah says [in the Koran]: "If they repent before you overcome them, you should know that Allah is forgiving and merciful." ... we are opening the door of forgiveness[...] and acceptance of Islamic law, to all who have strayed and committed a crime in the name of religion...Everyone who belongs to this group that has wronged itself who has not yet been apprehended in terrorist operations – we offer them a chance to return to Allah...Anyone who accepts this and surrenders of his own free will...will be treated according to the law of Allah."

"The case of Saudi Arabia highlights the difficulties that democracies face in trying to support freedom, human rights, and democracy. King Abdullah heads a royal family that completely controls Saudi society. Thanks to the fact that they own the world's largest reserves of oil, they are virtually immune from international criticism and they do not bother to hold even fake national elections. By law, all Saudi citizens must be Muslims. It is illegal for Saudis to follow a different religion. A Saudi woman cannot appear in public with a man who is not a relative. Women are required to completely cover their bodies in public and they must wear veils. Some Saudi women have expressed satisfaction with the restrictions in the country. However, the strict suppression of women is not voluntary, and Saudi women who would like to live a freer life are not allowed to do so. King Abdullah and his relatives follow an intolerant version of Islam known in the West as Wahhabism. Since 1975, the Saudi royal family has spent more than $70 billion financing mosques and Islamic centers worldwide, including more than $300 million in the United States, where most Muslims studying in Arabic use Saudi textbooks, some of which are virulently anti-Christian and anti-Jewish. If Saudi Arabia did not control so much oil, King Abdullah and the Saudi royal family would be treated just as much as pariahs as are Than Shwe and the Burmese generals."

"[Religious leader Abdullah] Hashem and his followers referred to an old prophecy that they applied to the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. This prophecy, which circulated widely amongst the Shiites, indicated that the Imam al-Mahdi should appear after the death of a King of Hejaz (i.e., Saudi Arabia) called Abdullah, identified by certain signs. According to Shia sources, Prophet Muhammad prophesied that “Hejaz will be ruled by a man whose name is the name of an animal, if you see him from far, you will think he is cross-eyed, and if you come close to him, you do not see anything (wrong) in his eyes. He will be succeeded by a brother of his, named Abdullah… Whoever guarantees for me the death of Abdullah, I guarantee for him the Riser/Qaim.” The AROPL notes that King Fahd of Saudi Arabia had the name of an animal (Fahd meaning “leopard”) and had the eye problem described in the prophecy. He died in 2005 and was succeeded by his brother Abdullah, who died in turn on January 23, 2015. Abdullah Hashem advanced his claims immediately after this event."

"The Soviet Union has long been proposing to outlaw chemical weapons, to remove them from the arsenals of states. We are prepared for resolution of this problem either on a global basis or piece by piece. As one of the first steps the USSR and the other socialist countries proposed in January 1984 that agreement be reached on ridding Europe of all types of chemical weapons."

"Re-elected in 1984, [Reagan] sought to assure the Soviet leadership that he wanted peace; he also signalled that he sought a resumption of negotiations. This was not going to be easy. Andropov had been in poor health at his accession to the General Secretaryship, and he died in February 1984. His successor Konstantin Chernenko had been Brezhnev’s personal assistant. Mental agility beyond the routine tasks of administration had never been one of his strong features and he was already badly ill with emphysema. Reagan was trying to parley at a table at which he was the solitary sitter. Yet fortune smiled on the American strategy when, in March 1985, Chernenko died and was succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachëv."

"Andropov died the following month, to be succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko, an enfeebled geriatric so zombie-like as to be beyond assessing intelligence reports, alarming or not. Having failed to prevent the NATO missile deployments, Foreign Minister Gromyko soon grudgingly agreed to resume arms control negotiations. Meanwhile Reagan was running for re-election as both a hawk and a dove: in November he trounced his Democratic opponent, Walter Mondale. And when Chernenko died in March, 1985, at the age of seventy-four, it seemed an all-too-literal validation of Reagan's predictions about "last pages" and historical "ash-heaps." Seventy-four himself at the time, the president had another line ready: "How am I supposed to get anyplace with the Russians, if they keep dying on me?""

"You know, comrades, that Konstantin Ustinovich has been gravely ill for a long time, and has been in the hospital in recent months. On the part of the Fourth Main Department, all necessary measures were taken in order to treat Konstantin Ustinovich. But the illness did not submit to the cure, it started to weaken his systems first slowly, and then faster and faster. It became especially aggravated as a result of pneumonia in both lungs, which Konstantin Ustinovich developed during his vacation in Kislovodsk. There were periods when we succeeded in alleviating the lung and heart insufficiencies, and during those periods Konstantin Ustinovich found enough strength to come to work. Several times he conducted Politburo sessions, and put in work days, although shortened ones. Emphysema of the lungs and the aggravated lung and heart insufficiency had worsened significantly in the last two or three weeks. Another, accompanying illness had developed—chronic hepatitis, i.e. liver failure with its transformation into cirrhosis. The cirrhosis of the liver and the worsening dystrophic changes in the organs and tissues led to the situation where not with standing intensive therapy, which was administered actively on a daily basis, the state of his health gradually deteriorated. On March 10 at 3:00 p.m., Konstantin Ustinovich lost consciousness, and at 19:20 death occurred as a result of heart failure."

"Sverdlov Hall was already nearly full...The provincial elite were all there. And it was all the usual things: people kissing each other and shouting greetings across the rows of seats, chattering about the snow and the harvest prospects and generally feeling themselves to be masters of their fate. In all the cacophony I didn't hear the name of Andropov mentioned once, not anything said about his death. At twenty minutes to eleven the hall hushed. The waiting began. With each minute the tension rose and the atmosphere felt charged with electricity...The tension reached a climax. All eyes turned towards the door...Who would come through it first? At precisely eleven, Chernenko's head appeared in the doorway. He was followed by Tikhonov, Gromyko, Ustinov, Gorbachev and the rest. The delegates' reaction was silence."