Tim Ryan Quotes

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

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.

I wonder if these gentlemen have stopped to think how we would feel if we differed with another nation and needed help on humanitarian grounds and our political differences of opinion were used against us when we were begging to keep our people from starvation.

U. S. Foreign Policy is usually largely reactive.

Foreign policy should be strategic, not tactical.

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.

English [foreign] policy is to float lazily downstream, occasionally putting out a diplomatic boat-hook to avoid collisions.

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.

Americans must step back and realize that an effective foreign policy is very difficult to devise, and we must present a united front to make it work.

When I became secretary of state, I felt one of my primary jobs was building relationships around the world.

The American people deserve an honest assessment of the state of our foreign affairs.

Foreign policy must be about priorities. The United States cannot do everything everywhere.

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

We believe that government in Britain should be working to restore our reputation on the international stage after Iraq and engage better within Europe.

A great nation like the United States has many and varied interests, and we need both to do business with tyrants and to engage constantly in multilateral diplomacy.

Diplomacy is not an end in itself if it does not advance U.S. interests.

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.

In foreign policy you have to wait twenty-five years to see how it comes out.

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

During the past few years I have led a sometimes hard battle for German foreign policy.

Foreign policy will require a strategic agility that, whenever possible, gets ahead of problems, strengthens U.S. security and alliances, and promotes American interests and credibility.

Unilateral preemption should not in any way be the model for how we conduct international relations.

The principles that should guide American foreign policy are simple: the world is safer when America leads, only strength ensures peace and freedom, and America must stand with its allies and challenge its adversaries.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great sadness that I announce that I will resign as Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs. I am sad because I love this job. I'm totally dedicated to the work that we are doing in Australia's name around the world, and I believe that we have achieved many good results for Australia, and I'm proud of them.