Zbigniew Brzezinski Quotes
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The United States should not engage in tit-for-tat polemics directed at its most important allies. That is as demeaning as it is destructive.
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Acting alone in a world that's alive in political stirring is to condemn oneself to isolation and probably protracted warfare of the kind that can be dissipating.
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World War II and the ensuing Cold War compelled the United States to develop a sustained commitment to Western Europe and the Far East.
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The Chinese are really good at diplomacy - and even at making their interlocutors feel very uncomfortable.
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Democrats should insist that a pluralistic democracy such as ours rely on bipartisanship in formulating a foreign policy based on moderation and the nuances of the human condition.
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I think it is important to ask ourselves as citizens, not as Democrats attacking the administration, but as citizens, whether a world power can really provide global leadership on the basis of fear and anxiety?
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A president who aspires to be recognized as a global leader should not personally stake out a foreign-policy goal, commit himself eloquently to its attainment, and then yield the ground when confronted by firm opposition.
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America's victory in the Cold War was not without painful social costs.
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I draw a very clear distinction between populism and democracy.
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The Soviet Union's termination, which brought to an end the bipolar world, ushered in an era of U.S. hegemony. Hegemony, however, should not be confused with omnipotence. Hegemony is not omnipotence but is certainly preponderance.
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I don't approve of the notion that we should be announcing who should step down from the position of a head of a state unless we are seriously prepared to remove that person. But if we are not, if we are being prudent and careful, then let's also be careful with how we talk.
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Economically, we are, to some significant degree, interdependent with Chinese well-being. That is a great asset.
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The public has been told repeatedly that terrorism is 'evil,' which it undoubtedly is, and that 'evildoers' are responsible for it, which doubtless they are. But beyond these justifiable condemnations, there is a historical void.
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If we can deter the Soviet Union, if we can deter North Korea, why on earth can't we deter Iran?
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The Cold War did end in the victory of one side and in the defeat of the other. This reality cannot be denied, despite the understandable sensitivities that such a conclusion provokes among the tenderhearted in the West and some of the former leaders of the defeated side.
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Given the accelerating velocity of history, we should begin charting deliberately the next phase in its trajectory.
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War triggers unforeseeable military dynamics and sets off massive political shocks, creating new problems as well as new opportunities.
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Look at Islam in a rational manner and without demagoguery or emotion. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers.
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It is said that the West had a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid. There isn't a global Islam.
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Both World War II and the subsequent Cold War gave America's involvement in world affairs a clear focus. The objectives of foreign policy were relatively easy to define, and they could be imbued with high moral content.
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The problem with the Iranian regime, of course is, one, its unsettling effects on the Sunnis, particularly Saudi Arabia, and, secondly, its potential threat to Israel.
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We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.
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The security link between us and Europe is very important for European security but also for our security.
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To his credit, Obama has undertaken a truly ambitious effort to redefine the United States' view of the world and to reconnect the United States with the emerging historical context of the twenty-first century. He has done this remarkably well.