Frank Aiken Quotes

Let the king consider as hostile his immediate neighbor and the enemy of such a foe, as friendly.

Let us above all things avoid as much as possible entangling ourselves with their wars and politics … America has been the sport of European wars and politics long enough.

Our plan was to have no Interest, Connection or Embarrassment in the Politicks or Wars of Europe, if we could avoid it.

Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations,—entangling alliances with none.

There is not a conceivable enemy unless we create it, not a nation that would fight us if it could.

We shouldn’t take sides. We have two bad sides to take a choice between.

When foreign affairs were ruled by autocracies or oligarchies the danger of war was in sinister purpose. When foreign affairs are ruled by democracies the danger of war will be in mistaken beliefs.

When a rising power confronts a ruling power, bad things usually happen.... This is what happens when an extablished entity faces an upstart.... To avoid a disasterous clash like war, both parties have to make an adjustment, but the ruling power has to make more painful adjustments.

If, on our own account, we do not intend to wage war, we are much less willing to do so for interests which do not concern Germany and are alien to it.

We do not covet anything from any nation except their respect.

One sword keeps another in the sheath.

If you treat China like a foe, surely she will become one.

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.

We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace and amity with all nations.

Any confrontation, such as a verbal one with the United States, would be harmful for everybody.

It's not a choice between war and peace. It's a choice between war and endless war. It's not appeasement. I think it's better even to call it American self-interest.

You must show the world that you abhor fighting.

Iraq will not allow any action on its soil that could harm the U.S. We don't want any action from our soil to target our neighbors.

I've been arguing this for months. This is not our war. This is not a war we should be in. Australia's better spending its time negotiating with North Korea.

Our national determination to keep free of foreign wars and foreign entanglements cannot prevent us from feeling deep concern when ideals and principles that we have cherished are challenged.

No doubt it requires two to fight. But both of them need not necessarily be fighters. It is, all the same, a fight, even if one goes on beating and the other gets beaten. There is no guarantee that others would behave properly with us even if we remain peaceful and cordial with them.

However much we may sympathize with a small nation confronted by a big and powerful neighbor, we cannot in all circumstances undertake to involve the whole British Empire in a war simply on her account. If we have to fight it must be on larger issues than that.

Keep us out of war. Be neutral.

... the greatest moral victory in the history of civilization if it actually keeps out of a war.

All diplomacy is a continuation of war by other means.