Verbatim: Sep. 12, 2005

"This is mass chaos. To tell you the truth, I'd rather be in Iraq."

JASON DEFESS, a National Guard sergeant and Iraq war veteran, on the abysmal hurricane shelter at the New Orleans Superdome

"I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food."

KANYE WEST, rapper, during a celebrity telethon for Katrina victims on NBC, which later distanced itself from his unscripted remarks that ended with "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

"It is going to be arduous, but we are going to rock and roll for a couple weeks and see how it goes."

JOHN BOLTON, new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on the hundreds of changes he is seeking to a pivotal U.N. document that critics say are an attempt to release the U.S. from commitments made in 2000 to aid the developing world

"Like its glorious precedents in New York, Washington and Madrid, the blessed conquest [in Britain] took the battle to the enemy's land."

AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, al-Qaeda's second in command, on a tape aired by al-Jazeera

"Sharon gave and gave and gave some more, and the Palestinians got more and more and more. And what did we get in return? The answer is: nothing, nothing and nothing."

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, former Israeli Prime Minister, announcing his intention to mount a challenge to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as leader of the governing Likud Party

"They said she was too beautiful. I said, 'Excuse me, there is no such thing as too beautiful.'"

DONALD TRUMP, describing a new cast member on the coming season of The Apprentice and explaining how this time, unlike last season, he got his way in choosing "a real Trump cast"

"I'd give anything to go back four hours right now."

ANDY RODDICK, former U.S. Open champion, after his defeat in the first round of this year's event by Luxembourg's Gilles Muller

Sources: Washington Post; AP; New York Times; AFP; New York Times (2); AP