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Policy is the art of the possible, the science of the relative.

Henry Kissinger

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

Nation Rule Trust
Behind the slogans lay an intellectual vacuum.
HENRY KISSINGER

Intellectual Politics
Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
HENRY KISSINGER

One Liner Power
Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God
HENRY KISSINGER

Blessing Destiny Eyes God Leadership People Play
I am being frank about myself in this book. I tell of my first mistake on page 850.
HENRY KISSINGER

Book Mistake Myself
Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem.
HENRY KISSINGER

Difficult Problem Success
For the balance of power is never static; its components are in constant flux.
HENRY KISSINGER

Philosophy Power Science
Corrupt politicians make the other ten percent look bad.
HENRY KISSINGER

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

Choice Early Habit Important
When statesmen want to gain time, they offer to talk.
HENRY KISSINGER

Man Talk Time
There can’t be a crisis next week, my schedule is already full.
HENRY KISSINGER

Funny Future
The war is just when the intention that causes it to be undertaken is just. The will is therefore the principle element that must be considered, not the means, He who intends to kill the guilty sometimes faultlessly shed the blood of the innocents
HENRY KISSINGER

Guilty Himself Kill Principle War Willing
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
Covert action should not be confused with missionary work.
HENRY KISSINGER

Action Difference
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
Intellectuals analyze the operations of international systems; statesmen build them.
HENRY KISSINGER

Intellectual Politics

Policy is the art of the possible, the science of the relative.

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Policy is the art of the possible, the science of the relative.

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