James R. Clapper Quotes

Pat Roberts and I both feel very strongly that when we get to Iran, that we can't make the same mistakes. We have to ask the questions, the hard questions before, not afterwards, and get the right intelligence.

Sanctions aren't about weapons of mass destruction. People need to understand that.

You should never take military intervention off the table. When you do so, you give an out to a rogue nation or rogue actors.

Looking back over my more than a half century in intelligence, I have not experienced a time when we've been beset by more crises and threats around the globe.

I could have been very popular if I had launched a military attack on Iran but I chose patience.

There are two things that are very expensive in international relations: promises when they succeed and threats when they fail

Foreign policy should be strategic, not tactical.

Is a military solution the only way to stop nations from doing bad things?

Now the situation is perilous, and the Powers are glaring at us like tigers eyeing their prey, all trying to barge into our country. Considering the financial and military situation in China today, we will of course try and avoid a war … But if our powerful enemies try and force us to yield to demands to which we cannot possibly consent, then we shall have no other alternative but to rely on the justice of our cause and to unite and fight.

Defending human rights should be an important objective of foreign policy, and that, too, will sometimes be hard to reconcile with an economic agenda, especially when it comes to dealing with rich but repressive players like China and Russia.

I think what you can see is that we have worked very closely with China. China has really stood up in putting the pressure on North Korea.

We do not agree with policies that would lead to attempts at easing sanctions or lifting them and returning to business as usual with Russia. We believe that such behaviour will only embolden the aggressive behavior of Russia, as the last 12 years have shown, starting with Russia's attack on Georgia in 2008.

Both Israel and America should acknowledge that scraps of information cannot serve as the basis for action against Iran, and they should find new criteria for such a decision.

We repeal sanctions, it tells Russia, go ahead and interfere in our elections and do bad things; it tells China, it tells Iran. That would be terrible.

Many Europeans are concerned that stronger sanctions are a slippery slope toward war unless the U.S. is at the table.

If you make a treaty first with the United States and settle the matter of the opium trade, England cannot change this, though she should desire to do so.

The United States prefers that Iraq meet its obligations voluntarily, yet we are prepared for the alternative.

Both Bibi and Obama realize that they are going to have to face the problem of Iran together.

A great nation like the United States has many and varied interests, and we need both to do business with tyrants and to engage constantly in multilateral diplomacy.

When I was in college, I became interested in various aspects of foreign policy and international relations. Even as a kid, I was interested in what I call, loosely speaking, forbidden knowledge.

If you treat China like a foe, surely she will become one.

If you want to treat China as an enemy, you have a much better chance of making them an enemy than if you treat them as a potential friend.

We have treated our most serious adversaries, such as Iran and North Korea, in the most juvenile manner - by giving them the silent treatment. In so doing, we have weakened, not strengthened, our bargaining position and our leadership.

In international relations, in foreign policy, a great deal has to do with historical circumstances, a great deal has to do with the sense and perception of people.

I remain committed to a balanced policy, which will protect our national interests both on our eastern border - I mean with Russia - and of course with the European Union.