"Cut off the head of the snake"

“I talked about my belief in Christianity and the role religion played in my life. I hoped he would reciprocate by talking about his faith. He wasn't in a sharing mood. In a last-gasp effort, I said, "Before you leave, may I show you my ranch?" He nodded. A few minutes later, the crown prince, flowing robes and all, was climbing into a Ford F-250 pickup. Then he, Gamal, and I took off for a tour of the property. I pointed out the different kinds of hardwood trees, the native prairie grasses that Laura had planted, and the grazing cattle. The crown prince sat silently. I wasn't making much headway. Then we reached a remote part of the property. A lone hen turkey was standing in the road. I stopped the truck. The bird stayed put. "What is that?" the crown prince asked. I told him it was a turkey. "Benjamin Franklin loved the turkey so much he wanted it to be America's national bird," I said. Suddenly I felt the crown prince's hand grab my arm. "My brother," he said, "it is a sign from Allah. This is a good omen." I've never understood the significance of the bird, but I felt the tension between us begin to melt. When we got back to the house, our aides were surprised to say we were ready for lunch. The next day, I got a call from Mother and Dad. The crown prince had stopped in Houston to visit them. Mother said he had tears in his eyes as he recounted his time in Crawford and talked about what we could achieve together. For the rest of my presidency, my relationship with the crown prince- soon to be king- was extremely close. I had never seen a hen turkey on that part of the property before, and I haven't seen one since.”

“In beloved Iraq, blood is flowing between brothers, in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation, and abhorrent sectarianism threatens a civil war.”

“Fanaticism and extremism cannot grow on an earth whose soil is embedded in the spirit of tolerance, moderation, and balance. Good governance can eliminate injustice, destitution and poverty." Remarks at a Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Summit 5 December 2005.”

“When the Head is Rotten, It Affects the Whole Body”

“We should not let the enemies interfere in the Islamic countries relations including Iran and Saudi Arabia.”

“We state with a unified voice that religions through which Almighty God sought to bring happiness to mankind should not be turned into instruments to cause misery,”