America has never seen itself as a national state like all others, but rather as an experiment in human freedom and democracy.
BRENT SCOWCROFTIt’s not for nothing that the Iranians are known as rug merchants. They are.
More Brent Scowcroft Quotes
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To sum up, the position we took was that since we didn’t know the internal situation in Iraq nor Saddam Hussein, that our best bet was to take counsel from the people who did know him and who did deal with him.
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It is beyond dispute that Saddam Hussein is a menace.
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I don’t think the Chinese look out at the world and want to overturn the system.
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Saddam’s ouster will not necessarily lead to the same result, since Iraq lacks democratic traditions. Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.
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The radical elements in Islam are very dangerous.
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Who is the guarantor, if there is one, of a more stable world? It’s the United States.
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My point was that removing Saddam should not have been our highest priority. Fighting terrorism should have been our number one concern, followed by the Palestinian peace process.
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It’s not for nothing that the Iranians are known as rug merchants. They are.
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We have not been forthcoming about explaining a security relationship for the region, in which Iran can feel secure and thus maybe willing to do something.
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After the ’30s, we said, “no more Munichs.” And it got us in a lot of problems. Then we said, “No more Vietnams.” Now if we say, “No more Iraqs,” the next one won’t be an Iraq. It will be something different. You can’t learn lessons.
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Yes, Israel’s our ally. But, are the Palestinians our enemy? No, they are not.
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The art of diplomacy is to take an opportunity and turn it into something.
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I think America has to do more than be a broker now. Because both the Palestinians are weak and Israel is very weak.
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After all, we didn’t bring democracy to Germany in 1945; Hitler destroyed democracy there first.
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Since the days of Peter the Great, Russians have been maybe Europeans who didn’t share in the enlightenment and the reformation, or are they Mongol Asians with the European veneer. And they’ve gone back and forth.
BRENT SCOWCROFT






