If Iraq were to descend into chaos, the Europeans would feel the effects just as much as we would.
BRENT SCOWCROFTIt’s not for nothing that the Iranians are known as rug merchants. They are.
More Brent Scowcroft Quotes
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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 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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The radical elements in Islam are very dangerous.
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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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The art of diplomacy is to take an opportunity and turn it into something.
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America is stronger than any state probably since the Roman Empire. But we can’t do what used to be done with that kind of strength.
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Yes, Israel’s our ally. But, are the Palestinians our enemy? No, they are not.
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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.
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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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After all, we didn’t bring democracy to Germany in 1945; Hitler destroyed democracy there first.
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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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The radical elements in Islam are very dangerous. They want to achieve a return to the Islamic purity of the Middle Ages.
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Democracy doesn’t just consist of holding elections.
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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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Progress is only possible if the United States and its allies work together.
BRENT SCOWCROFT