Colin Powell Quotes

Our alliances should be understood as a means to expand our influence, not as a constraint on our power. The expansion of democracy and freedom in the world should be a shared interest and value with all nations.

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

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

Very near the heart of all foreign affairs is the relationship between policy and military power.

The management of a balance of power is a permanent undertaking, not an exertion that has a foreseeable end.

We had to avoid wounding Austria too severely; we had to avoid leaving behind in her any unnecessary bitterness of feeling or desire for revenge; we ought rather to reserve the possibility of becoming friends again with our adversary of the moment, and in any case to regard the Austrian state as a piece on the European chessboard and the renewal of friendly relations as a move open to us. If Austria were severely injured, she would become the ally of France and of every other opponent of ours; she would even sacrifice her anti-Russian interests for the sake of revenge on Prussia.

I don’t think that we should ever apply our military power unilaterally…. If we cannot persuade like-minded, friendly nations of the wisdom of our policy, then maybe we should rethink the policy.

War should never be thought of as something autonomous, but always as an instrument of policy.

Power is the true reserve currency in international affairs.

It is the natural desire of each nation to use the other as an instrument of its own purposes and policies. By dint of our mutual dependence, your influence is amplified by our power. Our power is made more responsible and more effective by your influence.

Foreign policy is like plumbing. You never notice it till it breaks and then all hell breaks loose.

So much of our foreign policy is based on other people’s weakness.

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.

Russia is not angry. It is focusing.

In power politics, it's usually not enough to be liked. A nation has to be considered essential.

U.S. foreign aid must be used more strategically to achieve our national security goals.

Success in foreign policy, as in carpentry, requires the right tools for the job.

It's important that all around the globe that the United States is pursuing the most effective foreign policy possible.

War is only caused through the political intercourse of governments and nations - war is nothing but a continuation of political intercourse with an admixture of other means.

I remain committed to a balanced policy, which will protect our national interests both on our eastern border - I mean with Russia - and of course with the European Union.

I believe - though I may be wrong, because I'm no expert - that this war is about what most wars are about: hegemony, money, power and oil.

Like Canada, we very much wanted the United Nations to be a relevant and effective body. But once those efforts failed, we no longer saw things from a multilateral perspective. For us, now, it is much more basic than that. It is about family.

Foreign policy is all about a universe of bad decisions, imperfect decisions; every situation is different. The dynamics, the atmospherics, the people, the pressures, the geopolitical realities shift.

A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.

The mantra from the Obama State Department is 'smart power' - the not-so-new idea that all elements of national power should be utilized to influence other countries.