Benjamin Franklin Quotes

I think it would be a threat [Donald's Trump presidency] to the conduct of our foreign policy and our position in the world at large.

It will be quite satisfactory if you open them gradually, as the circumstances may require; but the President assures you that this will not be the case if you make a treaty with England first.

Obama's foreign policy is strangely self-centered, focused on himself and the United States rather than on the conduct and needs of the nations the United States allies with, engages with, or must confront.

The United States has got to adopt a policy of befriending and creating allies around the world.

The best way to influence our enemies is to stand steadfastly by our friends.

Trust between allies is as important as deterrence of foes.

You should never make alliances with a decadent nation like France and a semi-barbarous nation like Russia

One of the great power’s intents in granting trade concessions and inducements or taking a hard line toward another state is to enable a favorable foreign policy coalition abroad or disable an unfavorable coalition.

Even allies don’t share every single interest that you have. That’s a law of nature in the international system. They will tell you most of what you need to know but there may be some things that they don’t tell you that you need to know in order to formulate your policy as wisely as you can.

As our relationship with China grows and matures, tensions will naturally emerge.

Countries in Asia - Singapore, certainly, but many other countries too - are good friends to both China and America, and we would like to be good friends with both.

It is reckless for a presidential candidate to publicly raise doubts about honoring treaty commitments with our allies.

America needs an adult in the White House who knows how to deal with China.

Using the Japan-U.S. alliance as a basis, it is important that we maintain and develop cooperative relations with our neighboring countries such as China, South Korea, and Russia.

The United States has kept the peace through our alliances. Donald Trump wants to tear up our alliances. I think it makes the world safer and, frankly, it makes the United States safer. I would work with our allies in Asia, in Europe, in the Middle East, and elsewhere. That's the only way we're going to be able to keep the peace.

You've got to remember the Cold War was a very real thing then, so the relationship with the United States was very, very important. As was the relationship that I was developing with China: that was something I did very much. And they weren't conflicting things.

American national security and American economic interests, of course - every president, every secretary of state - that is the primary goal. As you are in this job and in the work, you begin to see, though, that in the long run, both American economic interests and American national security are better served when there are other decent countries in the world who are both your allies and even when your adversaries are acting more decently.

I think Donald Trump realizes that if the story, in a day or two, is that the United States is in a war of words with Canada, people are going to go - well, good Lord, if he can't get along with Canada, he can't get along with anyone. And I think he realizes that that friendship has to endure and has to continue.

I think an alliance with Stalin's Russia is rotten.

I don't know what specific frontiers Germany could adopt for her purposes, but I think that those willing "to lend" a frontier to her can be found.

I think that Russia is very aware that they are on notice when it comes to certain issues. They are very aware that we do want to try and defeat ISIS together, if that's at all possible, along with our allies. But there's no love or anything going on with Russia right now. They get that we're getting our strength back, that we're getting our voice back, and that we're starting to lead again. And honestly, at the United Nations, that's the number one comment I get is they're just so happy to see the United States lead again.

I just don't think it's good for us to be run out of town. (Refusing to cancel Secretary of State visit to Moscow)

The reputation of those countries which cater to the foreign policy interests of other states at the expense of their own national interests will go down regardless of how they explain their actions.

Things are different in the international relations between states. In this respect, I am neither a friend, nor bride or groom [of the West].

America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests