Richard N Haass Quotes

For President Bush, the first, the 41st president, George Herbert Walker Bush, I spent all 4 years of his presidency on the staff for the National Security Council.
For too long, America tolerated a 'democratic exception' in the Muslim Middle East. As long as governments were friendly and backed regional stability, there was no need for outsiders to encourage representative government.
Foreign policy must be about priorities. The United States cannot do everything everywhere.
Generically, wars in necessity are wars where, I think, the vital interest of the nation are at stake, in which there are no viable alternatives to the use of force.
Good people cannot fully compensate for bad process, but they can mitigate some of its worst tendencies.
History shows that societies where opportunity is safeguarded tend to be societies that are good international citizens.
Homegrown terrorists are a real problem for even the most modern, democratic societies.
How can we pressure China on North Korea if China's one of the two largest holders of American debt?
I am confident in saying that Oberlin did more for me than vice versa. I took a fantastic class in religion, which led me to archaeology, which got me to the Middle East, which led me to international relations, which launched me on my career.
I believe in diplomacy; I don't believe in talking to... that talking to Iran somehow constitutes a concession or a favour.
I did not believe in the Iraq war.
I did not support the U.S. decision to intervene with military force in Libya. The evidence was not persuasive that a large-scale massacre or genocide was either likely or imminent. Policies other than military intervention were never given a full chance.
I tend to be one of those who does not equate democratization with the holding of elections. The emphasis ought to be on such things as rule of law, economic reform, and promotion of a free media - in short, essentially independent, free institutions.
If anything, what happened in Iraq after the fall of Saddam set back prospects for democratic reform in the region, as many came to associate political change with chaos.
If old American alliance commitments don't count for as much, countries will, in some cases, then say, 'Well, we've got to militarize in certain ways and act more independently.'
If Trump, for whatever reason, continues to coddle Russia, then Congress, the media, foundations, and academics should publicly detail the corruption that characterizes Putin's rule.
If you assume away most or all of the questions or difficulties, you can persuade yourself of just about anything.
In a global world, what happens within one country can all too easily affect others.
In a world in which the United States does less, whatever set of calculations, other countries will tend to calculate - to move in one of two ways. Either they will assuage or, to use a more loaded term, appease the strongest power in the neighborhood with all the consequences of that, or they will determine to take matters into their own hands.
Indeed, in foreign policymaking, inconsistency is often a virtue. I speak not of principles but of policy.
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AuthorName
Richard N. Haass
Profession
Diplomat
BirthDate
28 July, 1951
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