Peter Bergen Quotes

You'd better believe that Putin sees that in Syria, Obama draws a red line and ignores the red line.

This nation's elected leaders owe all Americans the duty of formulating an Iraqi policy based on sound analysis of the actual facts.

We have generals working on worst-case scenarios; we need statesmen on best cases.

American presidential elections usually amount to a series of overcorrections: Clinton begat Bush, who produced Obama, whose lax border policies fueled the rise of Trump.

Foreign policy exactly suits Obama's strong points as a leader, which turn out not to be giving the masses a clear sense of direction and hope, but instead exercising good judgment on a case-by-case basis while thinking many steps ahead of the present moment.

Under Clinton, the defiance of world order has become so extreme as to be of concern even to hawkish policy analysts.

Back in August 2013, when Obama entertained the White House press corps in the Rose Garden to explain that he wasn't quite as eager to upbraid Bashar Assad as he might have inadvertently led them earlier to believe, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees counted about two million Syrians in its refugee statistics.

I didn't eat for two days when Bill Clinton won, but after Obama's election, I was genuinely depressed.

Trump has got to define what he seeks to achieve with Russia, and then use diplomacy and sometimes coercion to achieve those ends. Right now, aside from this fight with ISIS, which I would underscore, you know, the Obama administration has been trying to fight ISIS with Russia for several years now.

President al-Assad and his army are the only force that actually fights ISIS.

Our words, actions, and diplomatic efforts should be aimed at trying to achieve pragmatic goals rather than creating rhetorical effect.

Obama has proved to be particularly adept at using the media to disseminate his administration's messages, but he is a masterful orator. Bill Clinton, too.

Trump crossed the line all the time. Flustered during the debate because he couldn't out-debate Clinton on policy, he just leaned into the mic and dismissed her entirely: 'nasty woman.'

Ever since Barack Obama had become president, the main policy of the U.S. government toward Russia had been one of appeasement.

Obama is not Bill Clinton. I don't think he's willing to let conservatives have any victories at all.

Obama and Clinton make an interesting contrast in brands.

As president, Governor Romney would handle the Syrian conflict much differently. A President Romney would not ignore a growing conflict in a dangerous region involving allies the way Obama has, especially when chemical weapons could possibly be used.

I like debating policy. I never once attacked personally Secretary Clinton. I have found that when I have attacked people personally, that's been a stupid mistake on my part. And so whoever I have attacked personally, I apologize for.

Yes, Barack Obama had his clashes with the press. I witnessed those first-hand covering the second term of his administration. But we did not have Barack Obama on almost a weekly basis referring to the press as the enemy of the people and accusing reporters of treason and calling legitimate stories fake news.

Netanyahu must mend fences with Obama.

Obama has refused to equip, or to arm, any rebel groups fighting Assad or his forces.

A mercurial plan of action may have worked in the Trump Organization board room, but it's a disastrous tactic in foreign affairs.

In 2008, Clinton and Obama were similar politicians. Obama was definitely advertised as the more progressive candidate, and that's part of why more progressive people - including women - went for him.

In order to get re-elected, Obama told us Al Qaeda was on the run and all but defeated.

President Obama's greatest failure is his failure regarding foreign policy and national security.