Get QuoteDark Inspirational Quotes App

" Americans don't learn about the world; they don't study world history, other than American history in a very one-sided fashion, and they don't study geography. "

Related Quotes:

" War on terrorism reflects, in my view, a rather narrow and extremist vision of foreign policy for a superpower and for a great democracy with genuinely idealistic traditions. "

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Vision

War

View

" Given the accelerating velocity of history, we should begin charting deliberately the next phase in its trajectory. "

" To increase the zone of peace is to build the inner core of a stable international zone. "

" We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would. "

" In Iraq we must succeed. Failure is not an option. "

" Economically, we are, to some significant degree, interdependent with Chinese well-being. That is a great asset. "

" The Sino-American competition involves two significant realities that distinguish it from the Cold War: neither party is excessively ideological in its orientation; and both parties recognize that they really need mutual accommodation. "

" The financial catastrophe of 2008 nearly precipitated a calamitous economic depression, jolting America and much of the West into a sudden recognition of their systemic vulnerability to unregulated greed. "

" The mullahs are part of the past in Iran, not its future. But change in Iran will come through engagement, not through confrontation. "

" Sometimes in international politics, the better part of wisdom is to defer dangers rather than try to eliminate them altogether instantly. "

" Pessimism about America's future tends to underestimate its capacity for self-renewal. "

" American power worldwide is at its historic zenith. "

" Commitment and credibility go hand in hand. "

" The 'war on terror' has created a culture of fear in America. "

" But if Russia is to be part of this larger zone of peace it cannot bring into it its imperial baggage. It cannot bring into it a policy of genocide against the Chechens, and cannot kill journalists, and it cannot repress the mass media. "

" We cannot have that relationship if we only dictate or threaten and condemn those who disagree. "

" The public has been told repeatedly that terrorism is 'evil,' which it undoubtedly is, and that 'evildoers' are responsible for it, which doubtless they are. But beyond these justifiable condemnations, there is a historical void. "

" War on terrorism defines the central preoccupation of the United States in the world today, and it does reflect in my view a rather narrow and extremist vision of foreign policy of the world's first superpower, of a great democracy, with genuinely idealistic traditions. "

" Constant reference to a 'war on terror' did accomplish one major objective: It stimulated the emergence of a culture of fear. "

" Look at Islam in a rational manner and without demagoguery or emotion. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. "

" Eurasia is home to most of the world's politically assertive and dynamic states. "

" Human affairs require some combination of moral commitment with disciplined political action. And that is what keeps me intrigued and challenged and wanting to influence events. "

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Political

Influence

" America's victory in the Cold War was not without painful social costs. "

" If we slide into a pattern of just thinking about today, we'll end up reacting to yesterday instead of shaping something more constructive in the world. "

" Pakistan's political instability is its greatest vulnerability, and a decline in U.S. power would reduce America's ability to aid Pakistan's consolidation and development. "

" The fact of the matter is the Arab elites are more inclined to accommodate our wishes because of certain overlapping interests that are often financial. That is not the case with the Arab masses. "

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Fact

Wishes

" Hard power makes sense under some circumstances. But there's not a universal solution to global problems. "

" Because America is a democracy, public support for presidential foreign-policy decisions is essential. "

" I think we have to pay attention to the Arab masses not just in the Gulf States, but also in the hinterlands. "

" A president who aspires to be recognized as a global leader should not personally stake out a foreign-policy goal, commit himself eloquently to its attainment, and then yield the ground when confronted by firm opposition. "