Richard N. Haass Quotes

The U.S. engages with North Korea, so I don't see why they can't engage with Iran.

By linking these countries together in his 'axis of evil' speech, President Bush implied an identity between them not only in terms of their threat, but also in terms of the action necessary to deal with the threat. A lot of work will now need to be done to delink the three, and to show why military action against Iraq is so much more justified than against Iran and North Korea.

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

Counterterrorism, counterproliferation, and counterintelligence are staples. The four countries of highest interest - Russia, China, Iran and North Korea - are constants.

If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.

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.

Iran is one of their biggest trading partners. Iran has power over North Korea.

Iranians are very proud and don't want to become a pariah state like North Korea.

The U.S. along with China, Japan, South Korea and Russia has an important role to play in containing North Korea's nuclear ambitions and exerting all the influence we can possibly exert.

Just this week, Syria broke off all relations with the United States military and the CIA.

A war in the Taiwan Strait would destroy China's international relations overnight. It would destroy Chinese - Japanese relations, not to mention Chinese - American relations.

You know, in the WikiLeaks cables, the Chinese discovered that Kevin Rudd was urging the Americans to keep the military option open against them. This is hardly a friendly gesture.

The standards of the international community manifest firmness. Iran has no need for long-range missiles or to collaborate with terrorist organizations all over the world.

When it comes to the Middle East, this is always a very difficult issue for any American president.

Great powers engage.

We ought to nuke North Korea right about now just to give the world a warning.

Foreign policy today is economics.

China remains too important for America's national security to risk the relationship on the emotions of the moment.... No government in the world would have tolerated having the main square of its capital occupied by tens of thousands of demonstrators.

Deterrence, of course, is all about the perception of power. It hinges on convincing adversaries that, with force, guile, or economic isolation, you can make the think twice about acting against American interests.

Policymakers in Washington and Tokyo know that they have little leverage to bring down the North Korean regime. But they also fear the regional chaos that regime change would bring..

Our inaction created the opportunity for the Russians to reenter the Middle East in a powerful way for the first time since 1973.

Sanctions on Pakistan have been part of the troubled U.S.-Pakistan relationship in the past and should not be considered as an option in the future.

Russia's actions in Syria are not the only reasons to distrust Mr. Putin. Moscow has opposed attempts by the U.N. in November 2011 to increase sanctions against Iran for its illicit nuclear program.

If we can deter the Soviet Union, if we can deter North Korea, why on earth can't we deter Iran?

We can't just pop off and drop a bomb on North Korea and think everything's going to be OK. It just doesn't work like that. It's a complicated puzzle.