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Hamid Karzai Quotes

Hamid Karzai is an Afghan politician who was the President of Afghanistan from 22 December 2001 to 29 September 2014, originally as an interim leader and then as President for almost ten years, from 7 December 2004 to 2014. He comes from a politically active family; Karzai's father, uncle and grandfather were all active in Afghan politics and government. Karzai and his father before him, Abdul Ahad Karzai, were each head of the Popalzai tribe of the Durrani tribal confederation.

In the 1980s Karzai was active as a fundraiser for the mujahideen who were fighting to expel Soviet Army troops during the Soviet–Afghan War . After the Soviet withdrawal, the Islamic State of Afghanistan was established and then it was replaced in 1996 when the Taliban came to power and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. In July 1999 Karzai's father was assassinated and Karzai succeeded him as head of the Popalzai tribe. In October 2001 the US invasion of Afghanistan began and Karzai became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001. During the December 2001 International Conference on Afghanistan in Germany, Karzai was selected by prominent Afghan political figures to serve a six-month term as Chairman of the Interim Administration.He was then chosen for a two-year term as Interim President during the 2002 loya jirga that was held in Kabul, Afghanistan. After the 2004 presidential election, Karzai was declared winner and became President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He won a second five-year term in the 2009 presidential election; this term ended in September 2014. Wikipedia  

✵ 24. December 1957
Hamid Karzai photo
Hamid Karzai: 13 quotes0 likes

Famous Hamid Karzai Quotes

“My problem is that I am perhaps too much of a democrat for this time of the country's life. If you need a dictator, then go to the Afghan people. Let them elect a dictator. I am not one of those.”

Hamid Karzai

Interview with Times magazine http://e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/cc7ab8451a21adbb872571ee0040fc07!OpenDocument&amp;Click= (September 10, 2006) <br class="br">2006

“Today, while celebrating the jihad victory, we once again invite those who have sided with aliens because of seduction against their nation, to give up sedition and evil and join peaceful life.”

Hamid Karzai

Karzai offers peace, Taliban free Frenchwoman http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSP14081620070428?pageNumber=2 Apr 28, 2007 <br class="br">Message to Taliban

“On my graduation there was a party by the junior students, and I was given a hair brush as a gift — if I take off my hat, you know what I mean.”

Hamid Karzai

laughter <br class="br"> Commencement Address to Boston University Class of 2005 http://www.bu.edu/news/2005/05/22/transcript-of-president-hamid-karzais-commencement-address/ (May 22, 2005) <br class="br">2005

“Terrorism sees, in the prosperity of the Afghan people, its ultimate defeat.”

Hamid Karzai

Address to Canadian Parliament https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Karzai%27s_address_to_Canadian_Parliament (September 22, 2006) <br class="br">2006

“There is no doubt that people are angry. When a family is hit by a bomb and I am the president here with the responsibility -- when a suicide bomb takes places and murders the people of this nation -- I am the president of this country and it is my responsibility to bring peace to these people.”

Hamid Karzai

[http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1072624.html President Karzai Discusses Worsening Security (March 9, 2006)
2006

“On the security front the entire Nato exercise was one that caused Afghanistan a lot of suffering, a lot of loss of life, and no gains because the country is not secure.”

Hamid Karzai

Quoted on BBC News, &quot;Afghanistan&#x27;s Hamid Karzai says Nato caused &#x27;great suffering&#x27;&quot; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-24433433, (October 7, 2013). <br class="br">2013

Hamid Karzai Quotes

“politics without morality is close to sin”

Hamid Karzai

Verbatim Remarks by H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan at Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. http://afghanembassy.ca/public-affairs-afghanistan-embassy-canada-ottawa/speeches-afghanistan-embassy-canada-ottawa/content-folder/2006/articles/April-2006.html(April 2006) <br class="br">2006

“Not very far from here stood two towers that symbolized freedom, prosperity and progress. Half way around the globe stood two magnificent Buddha's that represented a culture of tolerance and a nation with a rich history. These symbols have been linked together through the global scourge of terrorism. Terror may have demolished these physical structures, however it strengthens the willpower of the international community never to let down the spirit and determination with which these icons were built”

Hamid Karzai

studies.roashan.com/Contributions/Commentaries/DRRoashanArch/2002_09_14_karzai_gets_to_tell_the_world.htm Address to the United Nations http://institute-for-afghan (September 12, 2002] <br class="br">2002

“We must not turn away when we hear the cries of the hungry. We must not stand by when we see the killing and terrorizing of the innocent. We should not wait until hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of our fellow human beings have died as occurred in Afghanistan, before we act.”

Hamid Karzai

Commencement Address to Boston University Class of 2005 http://www.bu.edu/news/2005/05/22/transcript-of-president-hamid-karzais-commencement-address/ (May 22, 2005) <br class="br">2005

“Democracy as a system of government may indeed be unprecedented in Afghanistan, but democracy as a way of life, a set of principles and values, is deeply embedded in our society.”

Hamid Karzai

Speech at the India Today Conclave http://www.afghanembassyjp.org/en/news/?an=1092 (February 25, 2005) <br class="br">2005

“We have no other choice, we have no power to stop the [U. S. ] planes, if we could, if I could … we would stop them and bring them down, … If we had a chelak, we would throw it and stop the American aircraft. We have no radar to stop them in the sky, we have no planes, … I wish I could intercept the planes that are going to bomb Afghan villages, but that’s not in my hands.”

Hamid Karzai

Afghan president wishes he could down U.S. planes, www.cnn.com, November 26, 2008 http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINISL40856620081126, <br class="br">Message to Taliban

“Every time we ignore the suffering of others or stand by and watch, we do not only act against our own interests but we violate a part of our humanity.”

Hamid Karzai

Commencement Address to Boston University Class of 2005 http://www.bu.edu/news/2005/05/22/transcript-of-president-hamid-karzais-commencement-address/ (May 22, 2005) <br class="br">2005

“When you see on the news or read in the newspaper that so many people were killed in places far away, do not let these numbers become mere abstractions to you. These are real people, like you and I. They are families, friends; they have pain, they have grief.”

Hamid Karzai

Commencement Address to Boston University Class of 2005

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