Michael Hayden Quotes

I used to have a little saying I used when people said, 'What are your priorities?' I'd give them a bit of government alphabet soup. I'd say 'CTCPROW: Counterterrorism, counterproliferation, rest of the world.'

We're in danger of breaking our army and preventing our national leaders from having the flexibility to confront not just Iraq and Afghanistan, but crises around the globe.

Mistakes, after all, are endemic to foreign and military policy given the unpredictability of events and the difficulty of securing reliable information in a place like Iraq.

Looking back over my more than a half century in intelligence, I have not experienced a time when we've been beset by more crises and threats around the globe.

Armchair generals assume that nations decide on their foreign policy objectives and then subordinate everything else to achieving them. Life is more complicated. Threats, opportunities and risks are always uncertain, but the economic costs of maximum preparedness are definite.

Obama has made incredibly poor decisions that have made us less safe.

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton is exceptionally qualified to serve as President Trump's National Security Adviser, and I fully support his selection.

As a world leader, America must be prepared to confront any challenge.

Every day as Chancellor I see alerts telling me of risks around the world.

President Obama, like every other leader on Earth, is still going to be looking out for national and economic interests. States don't cease to be states overnight just because they get a great visionary as their new president.

By dedicating so much concentration to the issue of security, bilateral matters pass to a secondary level.

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

Global security can be formed or threatened by heads of state whose wisdom, folly and obsessions shape global events. But often it is the security practitioners, those rarely in the headlines but whose craft and energy quietly break new ground, who keep us safe or put us in peril.

Obama is thoroughly mixed up with all these things he's got. He's got to solve Libya. He's got to solve Afghanistan. He's everywhere. And this nation, I don't know why it's not showing the leadership and capacity to attend different issues at the same time.

George Bush has shown great skill at disguising an incredibly weak foreign policy.

Our safety requires a long-term military presence in the Middle East because that's where the plans to attack us are emanating.

Americans understand that our security is enhanced when the United States is trusted and respected in the world.

The policy of the United States does not flow from transitory considerations.

Ninety percent of foreign policy is reacting to whatever's happening out there.

Foreign policy is too important to be left up to foreign service officers.

Statecraft, as these cases convincingly illustrate, is demanding and often exhausting work. There are risks, and success is not guaranteed. It requires major governmental and political resources and the same kind of hourly, year-round planning and execution as the conduct of a military campaign.

My friends doubt about this Danish business. I own the policy doubtful; but our right is clear, if self defense is clear. They would have become our enemies very shortly. Still, our national character is injured.

The military has to think in terms of worst case scenarios. In a sense, they have to play the pessimist.

I would never seek foreign conflicts just to distract attention from domestic difficulties; that would be frivolous.

Unilateralism in secret is sometimes necessary at the height of a crisis.