"I lost 10 of my family. I once lived in that house with six other relatives, now I am alone. ... The coalition has got what it wanted, it has liberated the country. But as far as I am concerned, my loss is too great to accept."
"Bush is the same as Saddam."
"Yes to freedom, yes to Islam, no to America, no to Saddam."
"Iraqis must rule Iraq. We don't need either an American general or a U.N. bureaucrat in charge."
"They say they came here to liberate us. We have paid a heavy price for the removal of Saddam Hussein, so the Americans should go now."
"We would love to have Saddam Hussein back. He's the only one who can control these mobs. Tell that to the Americans."
"I am very sad for my country. Very sad for Baghdad. To see the Americans inside it is very difficult for me. Because they invaded my country."
"We will never allow them to stay."
"What kind of humanitarianism Americans talk about, to shoot a person like that?"
"We must be united and support each other against the Anglo-American invasion. We must try to put an end to this aggression. This is not only my opinion. This is the opinion of all the people in Mosul."
"Leave our country, we want peace."
"This is not the America we know, which respects international law, respects the right of people."
"If this is freedom, I don't want it."
"They are killing us and no one's talking about it. We want Saddam back. At least there was security."
"Saddam was a butcher, and now this. This is a residential area. Why are the Americans blowing up weapons near us?"
"They are lying. They're ready to shoot for any reason. They're criminals. Saddam Hussein is gone but I think he's better than the U.S.."
"I refuse to help the Americans. They bombed our country. Why? Why?"
"American troops want to appoint their own administration and not listen to the opinion of the people in the street. The people they have appointed so far were in the Ba'ath party and the previous regime. People mistrust them. They will not cooperate with anything the troops do."
"It was disgusting. Despite that, none of our young men has pointed a weapon against America...but next time, God alone knows what popular anger could lead to?"
"Go home, America."
"Our arrest by the Americans was worse than the arrests that Saddam ordered against our students."
"We can't go where we want, move freely where we want. I have been searched and questioned as if I were the foreigner here. They are not educated people, they are stupid people. They are treating us badly."
"The Americans are occupying us now. This is a fact."
"We suffered under Saddam, we don't want to suffer under the Americans too."
"I thought the Americans said they wanted a democracy in Iraq. If it is a democracy, why are they allowed to make the rules?"
"We are running out of patience with the Americans here."
"You are the masters today, but I warn you against thinking of staying. Get out before we force you out."
"We want all the Marines to leave this place now, and also all of the press cars, or we will destroy them."
"They did the destroying, why can't they repair them?"
"He is my only son. Will I ever see him again? Why did they take him away from me?"
"No good Bush!"
"Of course we miss Saddam Hussein now. ... The Americans are only here to occupy us and drive us into ruin."
"They said they are coming here to liberate us from the regime of Saddam Hussein. But it should not be in such a way."
"This is cruelty. The rate is not even enough to pay for the lift into work. A packet of decent cigarettes costs more than a day's pay. A packet of nappies is one month! Is this fair? Even under Saddam, it was better than this."
"They can watch us through their binoculars when we're walking down the street. I don't like having them here."
"Sooner or later, U.S. killers, we'll kick you out."
"I hate Americans. I want revenge. I will wait, I will join a group, and, one day, I will kill Americans."
"We demand compensation from the Americans, but we also demand our town back. Even in Israel they do not shoot children in such numbers when they throw stones in a demonstration."
"It has never been this bad before. It just seems to get worse every day. I used to have hope, but I can no longer believe we will be saved. No one cares for us. I have four people at home and my husband was killed during fighting in Basra. I have no money and I no longer know what to do. I want to survive, but it just keeps getting harder."
"Islam, Islam, Islam, death to the Americans."
"This area never had any looting. Everyone here knows everyone else and we live very quietly, so why are the Americans here? We don't need them."
"To America and its allies we say: where are your honeysweet promises? Now is the time to fulfil them."
"They are sick. They are deeply, deeply sick. Tell the Americans we don't believe in this freedom."
"What do I think of the Americans? Look at where my foot used to be, look at my dead brother and the rest of my family, with which I do not know what to do. I have a wife and seven children who were all right, and now? That is what I think."
"We miss having safety, security and jobs. The Americans have made many promises, but they have broken them. We wish Saddam were still in power."
"There's no milk, no medicine, no salaries, no safety in the streets. What kind of freedom are you talking about? Under Saddam it was better than now!"
"The Americans and the British promised everything but brought nothing. All of us will fight them if they stay here too long. No Iraqi will accept this turning into the occupation of their country."
''These soldiers, they are the sons of George Bush. We will fight them.''
"War sucks big time. Don’t let yourself ever be talked into having one waged in the name of your freedom. Somehow when the bombs start dropping or you hear the sound of machine guns at the end of your street you don't think about your 'imminent liberation' anymore."
''We hate Americans. We lost our living. They destroyed our life, our happiness. Saddam Hussein was an unjust man, but he never did this.''
"Nothing is better since Saddam has gone."
"We hated Saddam but at least under Saddam you could be safe. The Americans said they were coming to liberate the Iraqi people, not for the oil. But this is not liberation."
"I consider what was done to be a crime of war. How would President Bush feel if he had to dig his daughters from out of the rubble?"
"We were told it was going to be paradise, and now they are killing our children. The Americans did not bother to warn us that this is a contaminated area."
"We have no fans, no milk or water for the children. They are being treated like animals going to market, not pupils receiving an education. We are the second richest oil country in the world, but we have nothing -- it is madness."
"U.S. army, you will die."
"The soldiers hit us on our heads, and they push us. The Americans are bad. I don’t want them to stay in our country any longer."
"These people here died because of Bush the father. Do you think Bush the son will help us find justice? No."
"Water, power, safety, these things do not interest the Americans. Nor are they interested in our liberation. They wanted to conquer our country and change the map of the Middle East."
"My children were the brightest in the whole school. Eleven years I spent raising them, and in one instant I lost them. There was no military base here. We are not military personnel. This is just a peasant village. The Americans are assassins. I haven't complained to the Americans. What would I get if I complained to them? I have complained only to God."
"If I had to choose now between the occupying American forces and Saddam Hussein, I would choose Saddam. Even though I hate him."
"Saddam never ruined our shops. Is this the liberation President Bush talks about?"
"None of the American promises has happened. It is unbelievable what has happened. We have discovered that Saddam is better than the Americans."
"We could repair a lot of the phone network, but we are not allowed to do anything. The sanctions may be gone, but we are under occupation. It will be an American company which restores the phones."
"The U.N. decision did not surprise me because America came to Iraq to control oil and this decision give it the right to administer oil revenues."
"If they don't pay us, we'll start problems. We have guns at home. If they don't pay us, if they make our children suffer, they'll hear from us."
"They conduct patrols, search our houses, watch the people. We here hate to be under surveillance and we are going to get angry."
"Like what the Palestinians do to Israel, that's what we will do to the Americans."
"They said they wanted to liberate Iraq, but this all shows it is just a game. Petrol is the property of the Iraqi people, but now the Americans are stealing it. They are taking our property, our petrol, and doing nothing for us."
"We need these weapons to defend our country against the Americans and any other occupier."
"The uprising of the Iraqi people has started now. They are treating us in a humiliating way, searching our cars and women. We will teach them a lesson if they continue."
"It is hard for us to live. We will run out of cash if it stays like this for another month."
"They said it was a liberation but it's been two months and where are our salaries, where is the power, the petrol? If you don't respect these people they will not respect you."
"Imagine how an Iraqi man feels when he sees a foreigner touching his sister. We can . I swear to God, I want to kill them all."
"We are not loyal to Saddam. He was a dictator and a tyrant. Now he has gone, but the Americans are acting like dictators themselves."
"The Iraqis,"The Iraqis, our spirit has been broken. The Americans promised us freedom. George Bush said he would liberate us. I want more than liberation. I want to buy my own food in the market. I want a decent job, a salary. I don't want to keep a gun in my house to shoot thieves and looters. My children want chocolate and biscuits. Why should we trust the Americans? They are hiding in the Ministry of Oil. They have no idea what our life is like."
"Where is freedom when the governor is a foreigner and the council is unelected?"
"No salary, no water, no safety, nothing but confusion. Of course we are starting to resent it all. We would like the Americans to go now, please, and begin to let us run our country. I do not see how we could do a worse job than at the moment."
"When you come to liberate us, I say, 'Thank you.' But when you throw the system out, you have to prove that you are better -- not to act in the same sort of way."
"This town was safe before the Americans come here and made a lot of blood. Is this the democracy they were talking about?"
"Before I was afraid of Saddam. Now I am afraid of the Americans."
"The bodies of 12 of your boys were found tied with ropes, each with a bullet in the head. The Americans detained them and immediately executed them in this horrible way. Now we have to avenge not only the occupation of our country but also the slaughtering of our boys. We will open the gates of hell on the Americans."
"The former regime was 1,000 times more merciful. The Americans have only pumps to steal our oil, but have no generators for us."
"Mr. Bremer, you remind us of Saddam. We've waited a long time to be free. Now you want us to be slaves."
"If the Americans really want to know what we are concerned about, it is not the Baathists. It is the lack of electricity and lack of basic services such as garbage collection."
"I hoped and I wished that when the American forces came they would bring us democracy and freedom but unfortunately we have seen the opposite. The Americans are going to get hurt if the situation remains as it is."
"According to what the U.S. government said, this was a liberation. Now that they say American law should be implemented, it means this is an occupation. They didn't say anything about Iraqi law. This is a full occupation."
"They can take our oil, but at least they should let us have electricity and water."
"Are Iraqis predestined to trade something for another? Yesterday, we traded oil for food, today it is peace for electricity and water and tomorrow might be slavery for life."
"It is the belief of people here, and it is believed by all other Iraqis, that the British want to disarm us so they can stay for a long time.
"We would rather eat rocks than eat chickens from Americans. Even the poorest person in Fallouja doesn't want chickens from you."
"We have no relation whatsoever with the old regime. Most of us were imprisoned and humiliated in Saddam's time. The problems started with the way the Americans ignored our ideas and customs. They humiliated us; they occupied our mosque. Of course, I will seek revenge if I am insulted."
"The protest was not because we worked with Saddam. The protest was because they shot children and bombed the shops. My opinion -- now, now -- is that Saddam is better than the Americans and the Governing Council."
"When the Americans first came, trust in them was 100 percent. But now there is none. There is no security. There is no electricity. There is no water. At least we had these things under Saddam. Before, I hated Saddam. But right now, he is better than the Americans. I swear if I get hurt by the Americans again, I will take up a gun against them myself."
"Is this liberation? Most of the injustices still exist. Can you go out in your car after 10pm? If you manage to escape the looters, the Americans will shoot you. If there is occupation, there will be resistance. All Iraqi citizens want the situation stable and safe and an end to the occupation."
"God is punishing them now. I hope they are never able to fix their power. In fact, I hope it spreads to all the states."
"The people here have had terrible difficulties for years. After the war, we have the same problems. Nothing has changed. Look around you -- the dirt, the unemployment, the lack of electricity, the thieves. If the Americans can't do anything, they should leave us to solve our own problems."
"Life is far more violent in Baghdad now than it was three months ago."
"This struggle is not about Saddam. It's about our country and our God. Our aim is not to have power or to rule the country. We just want the U.S. out and for the word of Allah to be the power in Iraq."
"Many families are afraid to send their daughters to school because people will kidnap them. Under Saddam, it was 100 percent safe. We could come home at 1 or 2 a.m.; police were everywhere. There is no safety now. The police don't have any power to protect us."
"Let me ask you a question. If the Iraqi army invaded your country, and burst into your home at night, would you accept it or would you fight them?"
"I was a political prisoner, so I enjoy our freedom more than most people. But I have some advice for the Americans: If they can't provide basic services, they had better bring back Saddam."
"The Americans are pigs. We will hold a celebration because this helicopter went down -- a big celebration. The Americans are enemies of mankind."
"After each attack they come to my house to question me or to ask for my help with the tribe. But I'll never let them in or grant them our hospitality. Because they are occupiers. They want to rob us of our dignity and our wealth. Resistance will not stop in this town until the last one of us is dead."
"The devil Saddam Hussein is gone. Now another devil is back terrorizing us. We are scared to walk the streets and we are not safe in our homes. If security does not improve, there will be more explosions and death in Kerbala."
"Neither America, nor the father of America, scares us. Iraqi men are striking at Americans and they retaliate by terrifying our children."
"It is their routine. After the Americans are attacked, they shoot everywhere. This is inhuman -- a stupid act by a country always talking about human rights."
"'If the Americans came as normal citizens, we'd welcome them. When they came for liberation, I sent them food. Now I just want to kill them. If I didn't have children, I'd join tomorrow."
"A house is stability and safety. We have nothing in our hands. What can we do? With Saddam, we couldn't do anything. Now with the Americans, we can't do anything either. I hope, I wish the future will be good. But it's not in my hands."
"You Americans are no different from Saddam, just killing the Iraqis."
"Saddam should not be the only one who is put on trial. The Americans backed him when he was killing Iraqis so they should be prosecuted. If the Americans escape justice they will face God's justice. They must be stoned in hell."
"If Sistani called for revolution, I would sacrifice my life for the good of my country. My father was so proud talking about that time, how we kicked out the British and how we should never allow foreigners to rule our land."
"Sooner or later, we will all join the resistance."
"Nothing has changed since Saddam. Before, the Mukhabarat would take us away, and at least they wouldn't blow down the door. Now, some informant fingers you and gets $100 even if you're innocent."
"The Americans said there is freedom of the press. Where is the freedom of the press?"
"We're not the terrorists as Bush said. The terrorist is the one attacking me in my country in my home."
"These Americans must leave and I am with anyone who's trying to achieve that. To me, they are like the Israelis."
"It is a revolution now. The families of the people killed will avenge this. The Americans attacked unarmed people. This is George Bush's democracy, not international democracy. His democracy is from his sickness. All Iraqi people will refuse the occupation now."
"We may be scared of their weapons. But we're not scared of them."
"I have been a fool for 47 years. I used to believe in European and American civilization."