James Reston Quotes

No Western government has ever played the long-term in terms of foreign policy.

The Obama foreign policy, in broad strokes, has been a disaster.

Only by decisions of national policy based upon accurate information can we have the chance that peace will endure.

Our foreign policy is inadequate, outmoded and misdirected .... If we go on as we are, soon—in the fashion of the cat on a hot tin roof—we shall be skipping from one crisis to another all over the globe, unable to get our footing anywhere.

What you want in foreign policy is clear, well-defined goals.

We must reject the idea of isolationism, . But that doesn't mean we should get involved in every civil war around the world.

When you look at where the Democratic field is going relative to foreign policy, they are increasingly moving away from a policy of pre-emptive self-defense that the president has adopted since September 11.

I challenge anybody to say that I wouldn't know how to approach foreign policy because, unlike some of the other people, I at least have a foreign policy philosophy, which is an extension of the Reagan philosophy. Peace through strength, and my philosophy is peace through strength and clarity.

In a world of complex threats, our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power - including strong and principled diplomacy.

War is too serious a matter to leave to soldiers.

Too often in Washington we tend to see foreign policy as an abstraction, with little understanding of what we are committing our country to: the complications and consequences of endeavors.

Bill Clinton's foreign policy experience stems mainly from having breakfast at the International House of Pancakes.

Britain does not normally these days play a huge part in peacekeeping.

We are a country that has many friends, many allies, when we operate in the world, we operate with friends and allies that's been true for decades and if we wind up going to war in Iraq it will be true in Iraq.

In foreign policy, the only thing worse than not doing something is doing something that fails or makes the situation worse.

Intervention continues to be a prominent dimension of the post-cold war world.

It is like our foreign policy has attention deficit disorder.

You do not build a foreign policy based on one man.

The [foreign] policy of the United States is modeled on interventionism and aggression. It is logical that we should always be very suspicious.

If American lives must end, and American treasure be spilled, in countries we barely know, that is the price that change has demanded of conviction and of our enduring covenant.

We have no desire to be the world's policeman. But America does want to be the world's peacemaker.

Foreign policy should be strategic, not tactical.

For nearly 7 decades United States has been the anchor of global security. This is meant more than forging international agreements. It has meant enforcing them.

History teaches us these lessons for the interveners: leave your prejudices at home, keep your ambitions low, have enough resources to do the job, do not lose the golden hour, make security your first priority, involve the neighbors.

Military action without political context is ineffective.