Richard Holbrooke Quotes

Diplomacy and force are two sides of the same coin.

We have to deal with it diplomatically if we can, militarily if we must.

You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done

Diplomacy without arms is music without instruments.

You can't get a diplomatic solution unless behind that, is the threat of force.

UN administrators ... think that no problem in the world is too intractable to be solved by negotiation. These mandarins fail to grasp that men with guns do not respect men with nothing but flapping gums ... Just as the US Marine Corps breeds warriors, so the UN’s culture breeds conciliators.

Foreign policy works best when force and diplomacy are used together.

Diplomacy, when matched by force, can achieve our objectives.

What I have learned about Afghanistan is that force carries more weight than anything else.

Peace is purchased from strength. It's not purchased from weakness or unilateral retreats.

People versed in politics need not be told that the devil is in the detail, and tough solutions implying the use of force cannot produce a lasting long-term settlement.

Power alone is respected and ... in order to gain peace, the United States has no alternative but to wield it

Time after time … when policy makers confronted a conflict between foreign policy and domestic interests, the diplomatic imperative prevailed.

In order to keep the peace you’ve got to have the authorization to use force.

There’s no reason to respect anyone’s word in that part of the world. The only thing they respect is force and the threat of force.

The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations.

In relations with other nations, there is neither right nor wrong; there is only strength and weakness.

Soft power … cannot accomplish much in the absence of a willingness to use hard power.

As one who fought in all of Israel's wars, and learned from personal experience that without proper force, we do not have a chance of surviving in this region, which does not show mercy towards the weak, I have also learned from experience that the sword alone cannot decide this bitter dispute in this land

Making coercive diplomacy work requires a mix of threats and promises—sticks and carrots.

The way that you get your diplomats listened to in an imperfect world is you make certain you back them up with hard power. The reason I say that is, as much as I’d like to live in a world where people who are out to do others harm would be willing to listen to rational thought, not everyone is.

If you don't want war, then you had better be an advocate for diplomacy with muscle.

Let's be clear: Neither Secretary Powell or I opposed the notion of removing Saddam Hussein by force, but we wanted to avoid the war if we could. But if we couldn't, the notion of removing Saddam Hussein from the scene seemed eminently sensible, given that you had, what, 16 or so U.N. Security Council resolutions basically saying the same thing.

To attempt to superimpose its views through the exercise of force, is seldom the part of intelligence; it is frequently the part of ignorance.

Force is not inevitable. Diplomacy is still the desired means. Pressure is an element of the means.