Dick Gephardt Quotes

Diplomacy and force are two sides of the same coin.

I do not believe that diplomacy equals weakness…. If you are going to use force you better make sure that it is effective.

Is a military solution the only way to stop nations from doing bad things?

Diplomacy, when matched by force, can achieve our objectives.

Soft power … cannot accomplish much in the absence of a willingness to use hard power.

You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done

Power alone is respected and ... in order to gain peace, the United States has no alternative but to wield it

Force should never be the first answer, but sometimes it is the only answer.

We have to develop preventive diplomacy.

I am too realistic to believe in pacifism. But, nevertheless, the use of force should always be the last resort.

Military force is not the first option, but it is there if needed.

When our vital interests are challenged, or the will and conscience of the international community is defied, we will act; with peaceful diplomacy whenever possible, with force when necessary.

… resorting to retaliation means that your deterrence policy has failed.

We will be no worse if we try diplomacy and fail.

Relieving the risk of a nuclear conflict with Iran diplomatically is superior than trying to do that militarily.

We are desperately in need of the kind of smart diplomacy that has worked for America in the past. If you use force, it should be a last resort. And it needs to be used with full understanding of the consequences.

Violence is my last option.

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.

Although we are very strong, we are pursuing a very calculating and moderate policy. We prefer a political solution and are managing the situation accordingly.

Time after time … when policy makers confronted a conflict between foreign policy and domestic interests, the diplomatic imperative prevailed.

Every diplomatic breakthrough is preceded by a crisis, but not every crisis leads to a breakthrough.

I don’t care what the international lawyers say, we are going to kick some ass.

Foreign policy works best when force and diplomacy are used together.

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

The Pentagon is always going to be the last to want to intervene. It is up to the civilians to tell us what they want to do and we’ll figure out how to do it.