Brandon Webb Quotes

Ambassador: In diplomacy, an officer sent into a foreign country as the visible embodiment of his sovereign's hostility.

Over the last 40 years, more U. S. ambassadors than generals have been killed in the line of duty. But unlike this country's military, the U. S. Foreign Service is maligned, undercut and underutilized.

At what point in time can our government fire someone whose gross negligence left four Americans dead in Benghazi?

The real duties of an ambassador are to enter into or follow negotiations between his own government and that of the country to which he is accredited.

Throughout history, ambassadors have always been symbolic incarnations of the sovereignty of their nations and the dignity of their leaders.

The president of the United States let the consulate in Libya become a death trap.

I wanted all my visits to be official. When I sent the pass back with a note, I had no idea it would antagonize the president. I found out years later that it did.

I won't let any ambassador have a say about my foreign travels.

I was initially assigned to the American Consulate in Aden, not as Principal Officer but as a supernumerary officer to handle Yemen affairs. We had no resident diplomatic mission in Yemen at the time. People from Aden went up to Yemen regularly.

I will not comment on or confirm what are alleged to be stolen State Department cables. But I can say that the United States deeply regrets the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential, including private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats' personal assessments and observations.

If you operate any kind of major diplomacy, you must run some risk.

When the President picks up the phone and calls the Prime Minister, what does it mean to be an ambassador?

Ambassadors are the eyes and ears of states.

I intend to ruin the Foreign Service. I mean ruin it—the old Foreign Service—and to build a new one. I’m going to do it.

I think there are still unanswered questions about Benghazi. I think there are unanswered questions, and they could be easily answered. But I think they need to be answered.

Do we want someone as secretary of state that is somehow tainted in this Benghazi issue?

To say, that Capt. Ingraham violated the rights of Turkey, is nonsense.

The White House alone cannot hold its opponents accountable.

The limits of diplomacy must be acknowledged.

What Your Excellency is saying is logical, but I haven’t been sent here to be logical. I have come here to tell you about the rupture of relations.

There isn't any rule in diplomacy that can't be broken.... There are times when diplomatic principles should be violated, but when you violate them you ought to know you're violating them.

The Ethiopian government considers the offense of its accredited representative as grave and prone to create serious implications, especially so because the offense occurred in a public place an in the presence of the President of the United States.

I must say I hate our diplomats. I think with few exceptions they are arrogant humbugs and I expect they know it.

There was no authority with which diplomacy could deal.

Tell the Arch-Duchess that she may boss her own immigrants, but she can't boss the American consul.