List of Lakhdar Brahimi Quotes

Somebody Was Asking Me The Other Day - President Bush Is Now Talking About Freedom For The Arab World. I Say, Well, That's Great. I Was Talking About That Fifty Years Ago.

If You Are Talking About Terrorism, You Need To Sit Down And Understand What Is Making These People Put Dynamite Around Their Waists And Blow Themselves Up.

Afghanistan Is A Land-locked Country.

There Is A Story Which Is Not Being Told Strongly Enough Of The Afghan Employees Of The Un Inside The Country Who Are Saving Hundreds Of Thousands Of Lives Everyday By Their Bravery And Nobody Talks Of Them.

In Rwanda That Genocide Happened Because The International Community And The Security Council Refused To Give, Again, Another 5000 Troops Which Would Have Cost, I Don't Know, Maybe Fifty, A Hundred, Million Dollars.

There Is A Firm, Clear Commitment To Provide Resources And Ideas To Enable Us To Organize The Afghans Towards Starting The Process Of Rehabilitation And Reconstruction.

The Third Point Is That For Some Time The Un Has Been Talking About Helping Afghanistan In The Reconstruction Of The Country But There Has Never Been Any Real Commitment By The International Community To Provide Resources For That.

Of Course The Un Brings In A Lot Of Moral Authority.

Several Million People Inside And Outside Afghanistan Are Destitute And Desperately In Need Of Help.

To Leave Afghanistan As A Playground For Terrorists And Adventurers Was Simply Not Possible Anymore.

A Fly Cannot Go In Unless It Stops Somewhere; Therefore Weapons, Fuel, Food, Money Will Not Go To Afghanistan Unless The Neighbors Of Afghanistan Are Working, Are Cooperating, Either Being Themselves The Origin Or The Transit.

But You Are Absolutely Right That When The International Community Decides To Help In A Meaningful Manner A Country Like Afghanistan, Then Coordination Between The Various Actors That Are Involved In These Processes Is Very, Very Difficult Indeed.