Brent Scowcroft Quotes

Diplomacy is more than saying or doing the right things at the right time, it is avoiding saying or doing the wrong things at any time.

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

I'm sure they can grin and bear it for a week. After all it's for world peace.

I would meet directly with the leadership in Iran.

We did drive them [Iran] to the negotiating table. And my successor, John Kerry, and President [Barack] Obama got a deal that put a lid on Iran's nuclear program without firing a single shot. That's diplomacy. That's coalition-building. That's working with other nations.

I think Barack Obama had the right idea [on negotiations with enemies], and the bottom line is that of course there have to be conditions. But, of course it doesn't do us any good to not talk with our adversaries.

Diplomacy can be a frustrating thing. I think the strategy can work, so long as the force is robust and the rules of engagement are clear.

I told him that my own opinion was that the time now and the method now to deal with Russia was to keep our mouths shut and let our actions speak for words.

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

Appeasement was never a very clever policy, and it should not be our option today.

There is no area where experience matters more than in war and diplomacy.

Diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice Doggie!” till you can find a rock.

Foreign policy does not mean guns and rifles, but utilizing all legitimate international means to convince others.

I make an earnest appeal to those who hold responsible positions both in this country and abroad to weigh their words very carefully before they utter them on this matter, bearing in mind the consequences that may flow from some rash or thoughtless phrase. By exercising caution and patience and self-restraint we may yet be able to save the peace of Europe.

The United States will have the honor of proving experimentally, that true policy goes hand in hand with moderation and humanity.

Diplomacy takes time.

Our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please …. Our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

Diplomacy is tough, slogging, slow work—and hard work.

We will be no worse if we try diplomacy and fail.

There is an appealing moral clarity in dividing the world into friend and foe. But in reality, progress in international affairs so often demands working with those with whom we do not see eye to eye.

Military action without political context is ineffective.

Often, foreign policy - which, by definition, is largely out of American control - is simply a matter of not doing the wrong thing, the unwise thing.

Working across the aisle, I helped pass laws exposing business dealings in Iran, cracking down on Iranian human rights abusers, and applying crippling sanctions to Iran's oil and gas industries.

I believe in diplomacy; I don't believe in talking to... that talking to Iran somehow constitutes a concession or a favour.

We have told the Iranian regime countless times, do not confuse President Trump's strategic patience with weakness.