“One cannot liberate a people -- much less facilitate the emergence of a democracy -- without empowering the people being liberated. It is much easier for an Iraqi soldier to join other Iraqis in rebellion than it is to surrender his arms in humiliation to a foreigner who is unable even to communicate with him. And the more that Iraqis help, the less that coalition soldiers will have to engage in house-to-house fighting in cities. It is both morally right and politically liberating for Iraqis to participate and share in their own liberation. They are willing to give their lives for this cause. Their participation is indispensable as it will add legitimacy -- and therefore stability -- to an Iraqi interim authority that otherwise, no matter how you look at it, would be chosen by American officials.”

— Kanan Makiya

"Iraqis Must Share in Their Liberation", Washington Post (March 30, 2003)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Kanan Makiya 35

American orientalist 1949

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Kanan Makiya 35

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