Mitchell Zuckoff Quotes

I visited the compound of the American embassy and talked to the police and the people and encouraged them, and I told them to take the proper measure and apply the law against the people who are attacking them and attacking the buildings.

It would be normal for anybody running a high-profile, politically controversial operation in China to anticipate worst-case scenario, and to do everything possible to guard against them.

There is an interesting parallel between the 'Argo' story and '13 Hours' in that, around the world, we have 285 or so diplomatic outposts and the expectation that the local government will come to our aid if we ever come under attack on the sovereign property of the United States in an embassy.

I wish we had been doing diplomatic security in Benghazi. I can tell you that Benghazi would not have happened if Blackwater were on the job there.

I cannot and will not raise money on Benghazi. I also advise my colleagues to follow suit.

Despite the obvious intelligence and security failures that contributed to the attack against the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, the reality is that in one night, an al Qaeda-affiliated group destroyed a diplomatic post, killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and forced an end to clandestine U.S. activity in the area.

Because we're so visible, American diplomats are often the biggest target in town.

Embassies are fixed assets and as such are always subject to terrorist attacks.

Big mistakes were made in Benghazi, and people should be held accountable. But the brave officers who staff American posts in crisis zones know how dangerous the work is.

The September 11th, 2012, attacks on the State Department compound in Benghazi, Libya, is important and should be studied because in the big picture, it represents a failed foreign policy that spans across both Bush and Obama Presidencies.

The president of the United States let the consulate in Libya become a death trap.

It's especially important since September 11 for people to be trained for the unexpected. We want to try to make sure people are safe.

First responders will be on the frontlines if there is a terrorist attack in our communities, and we must provide them with the tools they need to do their difficult jobs.

We have to think outside the box, inside the Constitution, find ways to do things that will elevate our security, reduce the risk of the incidence of terrorist attack.

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.

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

We are taking a business-as-usual position at my agency, though business before 9/11 wasn't that hot either!

But it is equally incontrovertible that if our intelligence gathering process is seriously flawed, we had better find out and find out fast if we are to avoid another Sept. 11.

My goal with the Canadian border is the same goal I have for Japan and Korea.

Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed police officers become strangely commonplace after awhile.

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.'

Even we schoolchildren know that ordinary diplomats don't drive around in unmarked cars carrying Glock pistols.

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.

Every threat must be taken seriously.

If you operate any kind of major diplomacy, you must run some risk.