Elliott Abrams Quotes

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned, it seems, to direct the Middle East policy of the Obama administration.

Mistakes, after all, are endemic to foreign and military policy given the unpredictability of events and the difficulty of securing reliable information in a place like Iraq.

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

There is no area where experience matters more than in war and diplomacy.

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.

Unilateralism in secret is sometimes necessary at the height of a crisis.

Foreign policy strategy requires harmonizing means and ends.

A president who aspires to be recognized as a global leader should not personally stake out a foreign-policy goal, commit himself eloquently to its attainment, and then yield the ground when confronted by firm opposition.

We're in danger of breaking our army and preventing our national leaders from having the flexibility to confront not just Iraq and Afghanistan, but crises around the globe.

As a world leader, America must be prepared to confront any challenge.

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.

It has been an honor to work in the Obama Administration and to serve this President, particularly during a period of unprecedented change in the broader Middle East. Obviously, there is still work to do but I promised my wife I would return to government for only two years and we both agreed it is time to act on my promise.

Roosevelt was the one who had the vision to change our policy from isolationism to world leadership. That was a terrific revolution. Our country's never been the same since.

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

By dedicating so much concentration to the issue of security, bilateral matters pass to a secondary level.

I used to have a little saying I used when people said, 'What are your priorities?' I'd give them a bit of government alphabet soup. I'd say 'CTCPROW: Counterterrorism, counterproliferation, rest of the world.'

In foreign policy, the only thing worse than not doing something is doing something that fails or makes the situation worse.

Obama is thoroughly mixed up with all these things he's got. He's got to solve Libya. He's got to solve Afghanistan. He's everywhere. And this nation, I don't know why it's not showing the leadership and capacity to attend different issues at the same time.

Clinton saw himself much more as the steward of alliances and of consensus that moved in the right direction. He didn't see himself as someone who could change the overall thrust, I think, of global policy.

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.

George Bush has shown great skill at disguising an incredibly weak foreign policy.

Foreign policy matters cannot be intelligently decided in a large general meeting.

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

One of the reasons we don't have a serious foreign policy is that we pay too much attention to public opinion.

When you’re reactive [in foreign policy] you often arrive on the scene too late.