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" 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. "

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" Basically, I see Iran as an authentic nation-state. And that authentic identity gives it cohesion, which most of the Middle East lacks. "

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Most

Iran

Identity

" With the decline of America's global preeminence, weaker countries will be more susceptible to the assertive influence of major regional powers. "

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Will

America

" Neither the United States nor Israel has the capacity to impose a unilateral solution in the Middle East. "

" We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war. "

" The external Soviet empire lasted 45 years. It is shattered, beyond redemption or repair. "

" War triggers unforeseeable military dynamics and sets off massive political shocks, creating new problems as well as new opportunities. "

" Can we really mobilize support, even of friends, when we tell them that if you are not with us you are against us? "

" We don't have a public that really understands the world anymore, and in the age of complexity, that problem becomes much more difficult. "

" To his credit, Obama has undertaken a truly ambitious effort to redefine the United States' view of the world and to reconnect the United States with the emerging historical context of the twenty-first century. He has done this remarkably well. "

" 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. "

" We defended our allies in Europe for 40 years during the worst days of the Cold War - very threatening days of the Cold War - and nothing happened. So deterrence does work. "

" If the United States and China can accommodate each other on a broad range of issues, the prospects for stability in Asia will be greatly increased. "

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

" We need to ask who is the enemy, and the enemies are terrorists. "

" Look: I don't want to live with a nuclear Iran. I would like to make it uncomfortable for them to seek it. "

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Uncomfortable

Want

" If we can deter the Soviet Union, if we can deter North Korea, why on earth can't we deter Iran? "

" We have actually experienced in recent months a dramatic demonstration of an unprecedented intelligence failure, perhaps the most significant intelligence failure in the history of the United States. "

" What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the Cold War? "

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

" All the historical pretenders to global power originated in Eurasia. "

" 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. "

" Missing from much of the public debate is discussion of the simple fact that lurking behind every terroristic act is a specific political antecedent. That does not justify either the perpetrator or his political cause. Nonetheless, the fact is that almost all terrorist activity originates from some political conflict and is sustained by it as well. "

" It is in the U.S. interest to engage Iran in serious negotiations - on both regional security and the nuclear challenge it poses. "

" We can't have an intelligent foreign policy unless we have an intelligent public, because we're a democracy. "

" Not to mention the fact that of course terrorists hate freedom. I think they do hate. But believe me, I don't think they sit there abstractly hating freedom. "

" The war of choice in Iraq could never have gained the congressional support it got without the psychological linkage between the shock of 9/11 and the postulated existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. "

" 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

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

" It is important to ask ourselves, as citizens, whether a world power can provide global leadership on the basis of fear and anxiety. "

" AIPAC has consistently opposed a two-state solution, and a lot of members of Congress have been intimidated, and I don't think that's healthy. "