Bottom Lines

"Tantawi dwarfed Al-Azhar when he gave the strong impression that the American ambassador has great influence over the institution." -- Abdallah El-Senawi, editor of Al-Arabi

"Does [the Iraqi Governing Council] have sovereignty? Does it represent an independent entity? Was it elected by the Iraqi people?" -- Osama El-Baz, political adviser to President Mubarak, October

"It is not possible for people to remain silent while they see luxury, conspicuous wealth and even more conspicuous corruption." -- Refaat El-Said, secretary-general of the Tagammu Party, Al-Ahali

"The Americans do not want to stay in Iraq for very long. They want to withdraw as soon as possible because their presence is both costly and threatens the lives of their soldiers." -- Adnan Bachachi, member of the Iraqi Interim Governing Council, Al-Rai Al-Am

"The Americans have failed to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people." -- Mahmoud Othman, member of the Iraqi Interim Governing Council, Asharq Al-Awsat

"The struggle of Hamas and Islamic Jihad is not an end in itself. It is a means to end the Israeli occupation. Once the occupation comes to an end nobody will even think about killing Jews." -- Jebril Al-Rajoub, security adviser to the Palestinian president, Al-Rai Al-Am