black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.

Brent Scowcroft

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

Enlightenment Gone Share
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.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Fighting Followed Numbers Terrorism
Saddam’s ouster will not necessarily lead to the same result, since Iraq lacks democratic traditions. Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Country Democracy Election People
The Iraqis need help establishing a government. We have to provide them with security.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Government Helping Needs
I’m afraid that the United States is more isolated today than at any other time in my memory.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Country Memories People United States
Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Consists Democracy Election
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.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Country Different People Vietnam
Information technology has politicized the world’s population.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Population Technology World
It is beyond dispute that Saddam Hussein is a menace.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Disputes Hussein Menace
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.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Country Hussein Internal People Situation
Yes, Israel’s our ally. But, are the Palestinians our enemy? No, they are not.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Allies Country Enemy People
Much of what we know about mathematics and trade comes from the Arabs. Then came stagnation, and now they’re the West’s whipping boy. This is a problem that cannot be solved overnight, and certainly not militarily.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Boys Problem West
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.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Explain Forthcoming Region Something
If Iraq were to descend into chaos, the Europeans would feel the effects just as much as we would.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Chaos Country Feels People
The art of diplomacy is to take an opportunity and turn it into something.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Art Diplomacy Opportunity
Europeans are familiar with terrorism and violence. We have not experienced a true conflict on our soil in a hundred years, and especially not one that involved 3,000 dead.
BRENT SCOWCROFT

Experience Soil Violence Years

Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Brent Scowcroft Quotes