Adolfo Aguilar Zinser Quotes

A diplomat is one that says something that is equally misunderstood by both sides, and never clear to either.

I know the pros and cons of not being diplomatic.

When diplomats meet, they are, of necessity, ambiguous, in order to get an agreement.

When we put our trust in diplomacy, it is not because it is an inspiring or uplifting discourse or because it helps us see the common humanity in others. The stylized circumlocutions of diplomats can make them seem ridiculous or irrelevant: they never seem to be talking about what is really going on.

A sincere diplomat is like dry water or wooden iron.

You have to speak diplomatically. I don't.

I must say I hate our diplomats. I think with few exceptions they are arrogant humbugs and I expect they know it.

You say different things to a foreign country in public than you say in public.

The language of any joint statement between two countries is mulled over many times before it becomes final.

Diplomacy is the lowest form of politeness because it misquotes the greatest number of people. A nation, like an individual, if it has anything to say, should simply say it.

You learn, just as you learn good manners, how to approach things with a certain amount of diplomacy.

In most cases, cables are marked secret not because the U.S. requires it but because those speaking to us - the foreign leaders across the table - do. They are not keeping secrets from us, but from two other groups: their enemies and their subjects.

To say nothing, especially when speaking, is half the art of diplomacy.

In the world of diplomacy, some things are better left unsaid.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.

Nobody's ever said that pins are a tool of diplomacy.

It is in middles that extremes clash, where ambiguity restlessly rules.

I wanted all my visits to be official. When I sent the pass back with a note, I had no idea it would antagonize the president. I found out years later that it did.

I don't think the United States has done anything whatsoever to merit any criticism by the British.

I'm not always the most diplomatic person.

Originality is a thing we constantly clamour for, and constantly quarrel with.

Some people put up a peace sign with one hand. Some people put up the middle finger instead. I use two hands and put up both.

Diplomats make it their business to conceal the facts, and politicians violently denounce the politicians of other countries.

I realise there's an innate paradox in promoting oneself on the one hand and saying, 'Oh, I don't want to be famous,' on the other.

There are few ironclad rules of diplomacy but to one there is no exception. When an official reports that talks were useful, it can safely be concluded that nothing was accomplished.