Richard Holbrooke Quotes

Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

Waging war we understand, but not waging peace, or at any rate less consciously so.

Americans have learned that it is harder to end wars than it is to begin them

Peace is a question of will. All conflicts can be settled, and there are no excuses for allowing them to become eternal.

Winning the peace is harder than winning the war.

Sure we won the war, but the peace we’re losing badly.

Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.

Six years ago today war was declared. Now we are starting again with officially declared peace the world in physical and spiritual chaos. History in the making can be most exhausting.

The possibility of the United States winning the war and losing the peace is real and serious

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.

I want to say a simple thing, that the dividing line exists not between Jordan and Israel, but between the proponents of peace and the opponents of peace.

All the aftermath that so frequently follows in the wake of war still confront the nation, and we now, as ever before, must hold fast to the ancient landmarks and see to it that all of these plagues that threaten so mightily shall be rendered harmless.

The problem after a war is the victor. He thinks he has just proved that war and violence will pay. Who will now teach him a lesson?

We have won the war. Now we have to win the peace, and it may be more difficult.

Peacemaking and peacekeeping should run in parallel.

There is no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended. Conflicts are started by human beings, sustained by human beings, and they can be ended by human beings.

If you can secure peace, you may be cursed by a lot of hotheads but … you will be blessed in Europe and by future generations

A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.

According to the “ripeness theory,” every conflict reaches a point when the parties are tired of confrontation and determine it is in their interest to make peace. With practical steps, principled leadership, and encouragement from the international community, the peace process still represents a win-win for both sides.

This may not be a just peace, but it is more just than the continuation of war.

Middle East history is replete with examples of missed and lost chances to make peace.

War is not its own end, except in some catastrophic slide into absolute damnation. It's peace that's wanted. Some better peace than the one you started with.

We have thought of peace as the passive and war as the active way of living. The opposite is true. War is not the most strenuous life. It is a kind of rest-cure compared to the task of reconciling our differences.

Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace.

We extend our hand towards peace. Our people are committed to peace. We know that peace entails painful compromise for both sides.