Sukarno Quotes

Those who are inclined to compromise can never make a revolution.

Generally, an agitator is a rough man of the [Irish nationalist Daniel] O'Connell type, who says anything himself, and lets others say anything. "You peg into me and I will peg into you, and let us see which one will win," is his motto.

It is clear that in some instances the use of microphone surveillance is the only possible way of uncovering the activities of espionage agents, possible saboteurs and subversive persons. In such instances I am of the opinion that the national interest requires that microphone surveillance be utilized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An intelligence service is the ideal vehicle for a conspiracy [against its own government]. Its members can travel about at home and abroad under secret orders, and no questions are asked. Every scrap of paper in the files, its membership, its expenditure of funds, its contacts, even enemy contacts, are state secrets.

Revolution For the Hell of It

You can't just be a revolutionary for 40 or 50 years. That means compromising.

A revolutionary is not the revolution.

The simple truth is that the inspectors will never find anything the location of which has not been discovered through intelligence operations.

The Palestine question is very much agitating the minds of the Muslims. We have a very fine opportunity for mass contact for the purposes of the League….This will at once popularize the League and may help the Palestine Arabs. Personally I would not mind going to jail on an issue which affects both Islam and India. The formation of a Western base on the very gates of the East is a menace to both

“Covert Activity” in the United States is defined by law…. “Covert” and “Clandestine” don’t mean the same thing. That which is clandestine is secret but attributable. That which is covert is secret but not attributable. We define this kind of activity in legislation. I love this country

If there is to be a revolution, there must be a revolutionary party.

It is possible to argue that our present conception of revolution was staked out more securely in science than in political action.

Radicals must be resilient, adaptable to shifting political circumstances, and sensitive enough to the process of action and reaction to avoid being trapped by their own tactics and forced to travel a road not of their choosing. In short, radicals must have a degree of control over the flow of events.

I have always been of opinion that all the political workers should be indifferent and should never bother about the legal fight in the law courts and should boldly bear the heaviest possible sentences inflicted upon them. They may defend themselves but always from purely political considerations and never from a personal point of view.

I was married to the ANC. It was the best marriage I ever had.

During the 1942 Quit India Movement, I was a student at Gwalior High School. I was arrested by the British for participating in the movement. My parents then sent me off to my village where, again, I jumped into the movement.

I have a good relationship with Mandela. But I am not Mandela's product. I am the product of the masses of my country and the product of my enemy.

You can't be a real spy and have everybody in the world know who you are and what your drink is. That's just hysterically funny.

I've never met Snowden, I've never spoken with him personally. I mean, he's extremely smart. Very, very smart. I guess he was a lot less naive than I was.

Dubois, later in his life, would join the Communist party and renounce his American citizenship. His 'integration at all costs' message would, decades later, continue to influence the community's self-perception.

Sohan Singh Bhakna, Gurdit Singh, Teja Singh Sutantar, Banta Singh Sanghwal... they are my fathers. Those who gave their lives for freedom are my fathers.

I recall my first foreign agent meeting was on a dark, moonless night with an agent I'd never met before. When I picked him up, he passed me the intelligence and I passed him extra money for the men he led. It was the beginning of an adventure I had only dreamed of.

Breaking a cardinal rule of spy craft, I actually let it be known that I wanted to work for the CIA.

I excelled in finding and acquiring secret information that I obtained in brush passes, dead drops, or in meetings in dusty alleys of third world capitals.

If I was a spy, I would have a watch that would cloak me in invisibility.