On the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq:

“The first signs of victory have already appeared. Soon, Iraq will become a fortress of Islam, from whence the squadrons and regiments tasked with liberating the Al-Aqsa mosque [in Jerusalem] will burst forth, with the help of Allah.

“Iraq today is the most important front line for the participation of our Islamic nation against the forces of the crusader Zionist invasion. Due to this, providing assistance to the mujahideen in Iraq - at their head, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) - is one of the most important duties required of the Islamic nation today.”“Ayman al-Zawahiri in his own words,” BBC News, June 16, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-middle-east-13792238.

Message to Barack Obama after his election as president of the United States:

“You were born to a Muslim father, but you chose to stand in the ranks of the enemies of the Muslims, and pray the prayer of the Jews, although you claim to be Christian, in order to climb the rungs of leadership in America. In you and in [former US Secretary of State] Colin Powell, [former US Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice and your likes, the words of Malcolm X concerning ‘House Negroes’ are confirmed. America, the criminal, trespassing crusader, continues to be the same as ever, so we must continue to harm it in order for it to come to its senses.”“Ayman al-Zawahiri in his own words,” BBC News, June 16, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-middle-east-13792238.

Video statement:

“God the great and almighty granted us success to capture the Jewish American Warren Weinstein. We are seeking, by the help of God, to capture others and to incite Muslims to capture the citizens of the countries that are fighting Muslims in order to release our captives.”Chelsea J. Carter, “Al Qaeda leader calls for kidnapping of Westerners,” CNN, October 28, 2012, http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/27/world/asia/al-qaeda-kidnap-threat/.

“A battle with the Americans is drawing near… For months, we have been getting ready for the battle with the Americans. We have made all the preparations for the battle with the Americans in Iraq.”“Iraqi Hizbullah Spokesman Jaafar Al-Husseini: We Have Been Preparing for Months for Battle against the Americans in Iraq,” MEMRI TV, March 5, 2017, https://www.memri.org/tv/iraqi-hizbullah-spokesman-jaafar-al-husseini-we-have-been-preparing-months-battle-against/transcript.

“The battle [with Americans] will be military and political, as well as on the media front... We and the Americans will never be in the same trench, unless we are fighting one another.”“Iraqi Hizbullah Spokesman Jaafar Al-Husseini: We Have Been Preparing for Months for Battle against the Americans in Iraq,” MEMRI TV, March 5, 2017, https://www.memri.org/tv/iraqi-hizbullah-spokesman-jaafar-al-husseini-we-have-been-preparing-months-battle-against/transcript.

“[To then-President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh:] I do not work against you, I appreciate you and what you do tremendously, but what I do is my solemn national duty against the enemy of Islam… America and Israel.”Barak A. Salmoni, Bryce Loidolt, and Madeleine Wells, Regime and Periphery in Northern Yemen: The Huthi Phenomenon (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2010), 121, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2010/RAND_MG962.pdf.

“God is great! Death to America! Death to Israel! Curse upon the Jews! Victory to Islam!”Nabih Bulos and Patrick J. McDonnell, “‘Death to America! Death to Israel!’ Say Houthis in Yemen,” Los Angeles Times, February 20, 2015, http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-death-to-america-death-to-israel-say-houthis-in-yemen-20150220-story.html.

“The coward [U.S.] soldiers should understand that however protective their vehicles are, these vehicles will become an obstacle for them and they will burn to death inside them.”Maayan Groisman, “Hezbollah Brigades vows to attack US forces ‘defending ISIS’ in Iraq,” Jerusalem Post, March 21, 2016, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Hezbollah-vows-to-attack-US-forces-defending-ISIS-in-Iraq-448657.

“We have vanquished the American occupation with our quality and quantity in the past and we will continue attacking them, with our resources significantly increased. Iraq’s streets are still filled with the ruins of their vehicles that destroyed our explosive devices, and those injured by their soldiers are still hospitalized.”Maayan Groisman, “Hezbollah Brigades vows to attack US forces ‘defending ISIS’ in Iraq,” Jerusalem Post, March 21, 2016, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Hezbollah-vows-to-attack-US-forces-defending-ISIS-in-Iraq-448657.