Elaine Sciolino Quotes

It is longstanding U.S. policy that we will talk to the Iranians anytime, anywhere, on any subject, with no preconditions. So far, they have not taken us up on our offer.

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

Additionally, borrowing a page from U.S. foreign policy, I decided to send a message to a government that was becoming increasingly hostile.

Both Bibi and Obama realize that they are going to have to face the problem of Iran together.

No American soldier should be allowed to set foot on Iranian soil, regardless of the criticism we have of the Iranian government.

The U.S. along with China, Japan, South Korea and Russia has an important role to play in containing North Korea's nuclear ambitions and exerting all the influence we can possibly exert.

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.

Put simply, the Bush administration policy in the Middle East is continuing to fail.

We've come a long way since Nixon's first visit to China, or Carter's reestablishment of diplomatic relations.

Faced with the crippling sanctions, Iran could simply decide it is paying too high a cost to pursue its nuclear program and could opt for negotiations and reconciliation with the United States and other members of the international community. This is clearly the preferred option of American leaders.

The U.S. engages with North Korea, so I don't see why they can't engage with Iran.

So with the end of the Cold War, it became increasingly obvious that there was no basis upon which any decision was being made, not in the White House, and certainly because of that, not in the Congress.

No step the United States could take anywhere in the world would bring strategic benefits as great as detente with Iran.

The Obama administration has been trying out a new policy toward Syria since the day it came to office. The Bush cold shoulder was viewed as a primitive reaction, now to be replaced by sophisticated diplomacy. Outreach would substitute for isolation.

We have a substantial number of countries that have pledged and provided all kinds of support for the United States in the event that war becomes necessary in Iraq.

We won’t be very successful with the Chinese leadership [on human rights issues] if we’re in their face all the time.

The United States should not frame its policy options in terms of doing nothing or unilaterally sending in the Marines.

Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have left the U.S. with better relations with Iran and Cuba and worse relations with allies like Israel.

If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.

The most important thing I would do is to try to institutionalize U.S.-Soviet summits.

Our Cuba policy was a major obstacle to getting things done in the hemisphere and a source of tension around the world.

President Bush admitted that the United States went to war in Iraq based on bad intelligence. But he says knowing what we know now he would still do it again. So at least we're learning from our mistakes.

There is one government with which we keep diplomatic relations, the government of Mexico, with which we have good relations. Our systems are different. We respect their system.

I've reminded the prime minister-the American people, Mr. Prime Minister, over the past months that it was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close relationship.

America is not the only one who should decide about the policies toward Iran.