Robert D. Kaplan Quotes

If people are given the chance to experience life in more than one country, they will hate a little less. It's not a miracle potion, but little by little you can solve problems in the basement of a country, not on the surface.

One thing that we should have learned from history is to pay attention to the words of foreign leaders.

If we are going to lead the world, we have to know where it is.

If you spend 72 hours in a place you've never been, talking to people whose language you don't speak about social, political, and economic complexities you don't understand, and you come back as the world's biggest know-it-all, you're a reporter. Either that or you're President Obama.

We all should respect Chris Stevens, who dedicated his life to trying to improve relations between the Arab world and the western world.

I want to use the good name of my father George Bush to build a better relationship between the U.S. and China. There are so many misunderstandings and there is a lot to do.

Travel is one of the best anti-war weapons that there are. I've been to Iran, and if you're there you see little kids, cops, old people, cemeteries. Once you see that, you can't say, 'Oh, Iran, let's bomb them.'

When I was in college, I became interested in various aspects of foreign policy and international relations. Even as a kid, I was interested in what I call, loosely speaking, forbidden knowledge.

I have made more friends for American culture than the State Department. Certainly I have made fewer enemies, but that isn't very difficult.

Believe me, as one who has seen a number of international crises firsthand, they cannot be handled without an understanding of history.

The most important thing to me with any politician is that they don't start wars, but education is a big part of that, too, because educated people are less likely to do stupid, violent things.

Personally, I have been enriched by my experiences in Egypt and America, and feel fortunate to have been endowed with a true passion for knowledge.

Friends from the press, China needs to learn more about the world, and the world also needs to learn more about China. I hope you will continue to make more efforts and contributions to deepening the mutual understanding between China and the countries of the world.

My new hotels will play a leading role in promoting world peace.

There are better ways we can transform this virulent hatred - by living our ideals, the Peace Corps, exchange students, teachers, exporting our music, poetry, blue jeans.

Foreign policy is like human relations, only people know less about each other.

The most important thing for me is to have real friendship between Egyptians and Americans.

I want England to understand - the rest of the world to understand - what is going on in America. And I want America to understand what is going on in the rest of the world.

I don't much believe in bumper sticker characterizations of foreign policy.

International relationships are preordained to be clumsy gestures based on imperfect knowledge.

If we were able to see people in other countries and learn about our differences, why would there be any misunderstandings? War would be a thing of the past.

I wanted to be a man who travelled the world to make peace. I didn't realise that most diplomats are megaphones for their governments.

I wish more Americans would travel here. I always encourage my friends: 'Travel. See the Middle East. There's so much to see, so many good people.' And it's vice versa, and it helps stop problems of misunderstanding and stereotypes from happening.

I think from a personal standpoint, maybe I appreciate a little more that there are two sides to every story, and the way that the U.S. is sometimes is viewed outside of the U.S. can be pretty tough, depending on what the U.S.'s actions are.

We need cultural awareness and a cooperative approach with other countries versus a dominating approach.