11 Quotes by Bob Simon

Saddam, as most tyrants, was a total control freak. He wanted total control of his regime. Total control of the country. And to introduce a wild card like Al Qaeda in any sense was just something he would not do.

If China were to explode, I'd want to be there in a flash. If there's a big story, I want to be there.

The military has been determined to control the images of war since Vietnam. They're convinced that they lost the war because of loss of political support back home, because people saw what was going on.

The minute you're working with the government, you're dealing with bureaucracy, you're dealing with time lags, you're dealing with rigidity, you're dealing with a slow pace.

Few tears will be shed over the demise of the East German army, but what about East Germany’s eighty symphony orchestras, bound to lose some subsidies? Or the whole East German system, which covered everyone in a security blanket from day care to health care, from housing to education? Some people are beginning to express, if ever so slightly, nostalgia for that Berlin Wall.

I don't think I've done a story where I grew as fond of the beings as I did with these elephants.

Well, guess they put a lot of hard work into it.

After years of covering wars, it's really nice to get the adrenaline going. Going into a cage with sharks does that.

Your language is pretty much that of a martyr.