It’s not for nothing that the Iranians are known as rug merchants. They are.
BRENT SCOWCROFTWe 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.
More Brent Scowcroft Quotes
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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.
BRENT SCOWCROFT -
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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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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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.
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The Iraqis need help establishing a government. We have to provide them with security.
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If you look back at the first Gulf war, the Arabs sent forces, they sent money. So their interests in Iraq are clear, but they’re nowhere to be seen now. Why? Because right now, it’s dangerous to be seen as supporting the United States.
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Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.
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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.
BRENT SCOWCROFT -
The art of diplomacy is to take an opportunity and turn it into something.
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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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But the central point is that any campaign against Iraq, whatever the strategy, cost and risks, is certain to divert us for some indefinite period from our war on terrorism.
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If Iraq were to descend into chaos, the Europeans would feel the effects just as much as we would.
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It is beyond dispute that Saddam Hussein is a menace.
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America wants to work with friends, with allies, with people of good will, to make this a better world.
BRENT SCOWCROFT