Desmond Tutu Quotes

In politics... shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships.

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

Great powers engage.

Trust between allies is as important as deterrence of foes.

Cooperation requires a certain degree of trust between states. The threshold of trust required for cooperation depends on a set of variables including a state's relative power and costs of conflict…. conflict between trustworthy states is possible, when we see conflict it is a sign that one or both of the states are likely to be untrustworthy.

You help us pay for the war we’ll fight; we’ll launch it while you’re asleep at night. We don’t need friends all around the world; We’ll buy our friends with our flag unfurled, And spread our arms on a global scale To show the world that we still prevail. Oh, we’re not leaders inspiring peace, But we’re in power as the world’s police. So pay your tax for our little war, And we’ll not ask for any more. This year!

The United Nations exists to help countries solve their problems. If it helps the Americans solve theirs by blaming me, I'll be a scapegoat.

Today we will find most nations to be both our partners and our adversaries—sometimes simultaneously.

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.

This is the belief of the Left: You negotiate with evil, and get tough with your allies

We do not need more division. We certainly do not need something as complex and emotional as Vietnam reduced to simple campaign rhetoric.

Disarmament requires trust.

Politics and war are remarkably similar situations.

It's not just Iraq - it's the Atlantic partnership which is at stake.

If you want to treat China as an enemy, you have a much better chance of making them an enemy than if you treat them as a potential friend.

The United States can tell you all about what's wrong with the British, to say nothing of the Russians.

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

The economic and political roots of the conflicts are too strong for us to pretend to create a lasting state of harmonious understanding between men.

I still think it would be a great mistake to go into a war without support of our friends and allies.

Each particular society begins to feel its strength, whence arises a state of war between different nations.

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.

The way politics divides the world is into friend and enemy.

Certainly, the Bush Administration will rely in the first instance on its friends, since it would be both illogical and counterproductive to reward its adversaries.

Clinton saw himself much more as the steward of alliances and of consensus that moved in the right direction. He didn't see himself as someone who could change the overall thrust, I think, of global policy.

After September 11, the European governments have completely failed. They are incapable of seeing beyond their own national scope of interests.