Apr 03, 2000
*** "MR CLINTON'S meeting with General Pervez
Musharraf, and his talks with President Hafez Al Assad of Syria accomplished little
because neither interlocutor was in a mood to do business."
(New York Times editorial calling President Clinton's failed bid to
foster peace in the Middle East and South Asia demonstrates the limits of US diplomatic
influence)
*** "IF MR CLINTON has in his pocket the magic key to
peace, namely the complete withdrawal from the Golan to the lines of June 4 (1967), all
the other peace issues can be handled by specialists."
(Daily Ath Thawara, one of Syria's official press, commenting on failed
talks between President Hafez al Assad and President Bill Clinton in Geneva primarily due
to Israel's lack of prior commitment to completely evacuate the Golan Heights)
*** "WE ARE in danger of losing the argument or the
propaganda war — if we haven't already lost it — about who is responsible for
this situation in Iraq, President Saddam Hussain or the United Nations."
(UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expressing concerns that US lead UN
economic sanctions causing immense sufferings to the Iraqi people pose 'a moral dilemma'
for the UN)
***HE TOLD me he was a 12-handicap golfer, and I told him I
would like to challenge him on that."
(Pakistan's Chief Executive Gen. Pervez Musharraf saying that he and US
President Bill Clinton got along so well that they chatted about their golf games during
their meeting in Islamabad)
*** "THERE IS no problem for us with supporting the
right of Palestinians to their own state."
(German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder backing the creation of
Palestinian state at a joint news conference with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat)
*** "MY MOTHER is not in heaven, not lost. She must
have lost her memory, and just doesn't know I 'm here."
(Six-year old Cuban boy Elian Gonzales, who is at the centre of an
international custody battle between the US and Cuba, saying that he remembers how the
boat bringing him and his mother from Cuba sank but believing his mother is not really
dead)
*** "THERE'S A process called projection in
psychology. It means accusing someone of what you are doing. That is precisely what Mrs.
Clinton is doing."
(New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani attacking his opponent in the NY
Senate race, Hillary Clinton who had accused him of dividing the city over the latest
police shooting of an unarmed black man)
*** "PRESIDENT BILL Clinton may have made no progress
on Kashmir or nukes, but he sure had a great time on his South Asian sojourn."
(Weekly Time commenting on US President's trip of the Indo-Pakistan
sub-continent)
*** "I HAVE done so a few times. My initial impression
is how aged I am and how difficult it will be to master this."
(South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's reply to a question 'If he surfs
the Net?' Korea may be the most wired country in Asia with some 10 million Internet users)
*** "WE KNOW the magnitude of the task, and are aware
of the long road and the difficulties ahead."
(Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong talking about challenges faced
by the South Asian region at a luncheon hosted in honour of Pakistani ruler Gen. Pervez
Musharraf)
*** "I DO read a lot about Islam now, and I'm now the
proud possessor of two different translations of the Quran."
(British Prime Minister Tony Blair confessing his interest with Islam)
*** "AT LEAST 50 per cent of the American population
is chronically sleep-deprived. If you say you need lots of sleep, you run the risk of
being regarded as lazy."
(James Maas, a US psychology professor and author of a book promoting
the benefits of sleep)
*** "No matter who comes to power in Taiwan, no Taiwan
independence will be allowed. We will not permit any form of independence on Taiwan . . .
We urge the new leader in Taiwan to return to the 'one China' principle as soon as
possible."
(Top Chinese leaders agreeing with visiting US National Security
Advisor Samuel Berger that the Sino-US relations were at a 'crucial juncture' over Taiwan
and China's trading status with the US)
Edited by Syed M. Aslam
