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It is not often that nations learn from the past, even rarer that they draw the correct conclusions from it.

Henry Kissinger

Because complexity inhibits flexibility, early choices are especially crucial.
HENRY KISSINGER

Choice Early Habit Important
History is the memory of States.
HENRY KISSINGER

History Memories
Self-governed nations do not fill their neighbor states with spies.
HENRY KISSINGER

Nation Rule Trust
What distinguishes Sun Tzu from Western writers on strategy is the emphasis on the psychological and political elements over the purely military.
HENRY KISSINGER

Strategy Writing
Can governmental orders be invented from scratch by intelligent thinkers, or is the range of choice limited by underlying organic and cultural realities (the Burkean view)?
HENRY KISSINGER

Choice Government Intelligence Limitation Thinking
Behind the slogans lay an intellectual vacuum.
HENRY KISSINGER

Intellectual Politics
For nations, history plays the role that character confers on human beings.
HENRY KISSINGER

Character History Human Nation Play
Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.
HENRY KISSINGER

Politics Reputation
To undertake a journey on a road never before traveled requires character and courage: character because the choice is not obvious; courage because the road will be lonely at first. And the statesman must then inspire his people to persist in the endeavor.
HENRY KISSINGER

Character Choice Courage Inspirational Journey Lonely People Road Travel
The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.
HENRY KISSINGER

Himself Leadership Nation People
Corrupt politicians make the other ten percent look bad.
HENRY KISSINGER

Appearance Bad Politics
Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.
HENRY KISSINGER

Animal Man Policy Stupidity
In the end, peace can be achieved only by hegemony or by balance of power.
HENRY KISSINGER

Achievement End Peace Power
The art of crisis management is to raise the stakes to where the adversary will not follow, but in a manner that avoids a tit for tat.
HENRY KISSINGER

Art Avoid Revenge
Later I learned to improve my forecasting—if necessary by asking the visitor in advance what subjects he intended to raise with Nixon.
HENRY KISSINGER

Learning Myself Necessary
It is not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true.
HENRY KISSINGER

Deep Philosophy True

It is not often that nations learn from the past, even rarer that they draw the correct conclusions from it.

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It is not often that nations learn from the past, even rarer that they draw the correct conclusions from it.

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Popular Authors

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