Richard N. Haass Quotes

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.

Foreign policy is painstakingly difficult, and if there is to be anything gained from the experience in Libya, it is how not to conduct world affairs.

Diplomacy and coalition-building are hard work and not easy for any president.

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.

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

Power is a necessary condition for enduring foreign-policy success but not a sufficient one.

There are two things that are very expensive in international relations: promises when they succeed and threats when they fail

Foreign policy should be strategic, not tactical.

Foreign policy is the most constraining form of policy-making

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

Whether you're dealing with your allies in Europe or you're dealing with a resurgent Russia, whether you're dealing with Iran or North Korea, you have to use the whole panoply of national tools of power to deal with the challenges the world faces.

Foreign policy is about the execution of ideas as much as their formulation.

It's not just Iraq - it's the Atlantic partnership which is at stake.

We have treated our most serious adversaries, such as Iran and North Korea, in the most juvenile manner - by giving them the silent treatment. In so doing, we have weakened, not strengthened, our bargaining position and our leadership.

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.

During the past few years I have led a sometimes hard battle for German foreign policy.

Richard Holbrooke is known for many things, but I will remember him as an impressive, sometimes even intimidating diplomat who understood the value of culture in diplomacy.

Turkey can be a bridge to regimes and actions the United States can't reach. Turkey can talk to people the United States can't talk to.

The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.

And we ought to work our diplomacy first and I think it's a reason it's going to respond increasingly to our diplomacy particularly with the president's direct involvement in the peace process, and I think that's extraordinarily important.

Foreign policy is effectively the assertion of many individual countries intersecting on the global marketplace. And you have to figure out how to get your interest served in a way that meets the interests and needs of these other folks.

It is like our foreign policy has attention deficit disorder.

In foreign policy, there are times when speaking with one voice - and it doesn't have to be mine - allows us to engage better on issues, and enables us to do things more effectively.

Our public dealings with the Russians can hardly lead to any clear and satisfactory results unless they are preceded by preparatory discussions of the most secret and delicate nature.