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" There is no getting around the reality that the second Iraq war was a war of choice; had it been carried out differently, it still would have been an expensive choice and almost certainly a bad one. "

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" To be sure, many of the Sykes-Picot borders reflected deals cut in Europe rather than local demographic or historical realities. But that hardly makes the Middle East unique: Most borders around the world owe their legacy less to thoughtful design or popular choice than to some mixture of violence, ambition, geography, and chance. "

Richard N. Haass

Unique

Ambition

Chance

" The first Iraq War was one of necessity because vital U.S. interests were at stake, and we reached the point where no other national-security instruments were likely to achieve the necessary goal, which was the reversal of Saddam Hussein's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. "

" Diplomacy can and will matter; little is inevitable in international relations. "

" Dissent is difficult. It can constitute a real dilemma for the person who disagrees. "

" Campaigning and governing are two very different activities, and there is no reason to assume that how Trump conducted the former will dictate how he approaches the latter. "

Richard N. Haass

Different

Assume

" Nationalism is a tool increasingly used by leaders to bolster their authority, especially amid difficult economic and political conditions. "

" Black markets exist any time there is a profit to be made. "

" Success in foreign policy, as in carpentry, requires the right tools for the job. "

" Russian membership in the World Trade Organization has the potential to strengthen the rule of law, combat corruption, and give Russia a stake in better relations with the outside world. "

" Wars of necessity are essentially unavoidable. They involve the most important national interests, a lack of promising alternatives to the use of force, and a certain and considerable price to be paid if the status quo is allowed to stand. Examples include World War II and the Korean War. "

" Indeed, the big U.S. error after 9/11 was to treat Pakistan as if it were an ally. With an ally, it is possible to assume a large degree of policy overlap. With Pakistan, no such assumption can be made. "

" Security is the absolute precondition for sustainable recovery from conflict; without it, people cannot rebuild their country or return to school or work. "

" Europeans must shed their illusions about what they can accomplish in the world on their own. Loose talk about resurrecting a multi-polar world is just that - loose talk. "

" On occasion, terrorists will succeed despite our best efforts. That is part of the legacy of 9/11. But 9/11 also shows us that while terrorists can destroy, they are unable to create. "

" Any time you use military force, you have got to have a clear purpose that military forces can achieve. "

" Russia may well be willing to stop interfering in Eastern Ukraine in exchange for a degree of sanctions relief if it could be assured that ethnic Russians there would not face reprisals. "

" Americans were happy to buy vast quantities of relatively inexpensive Chinese manufactured goods, demand for which provided jobs for the tens of millions of Chinese who moved from poor agricultural areas to new or rapidly expanding cities. "

" Difficult choices, unlike red wine, rarely improve with age. "

" What countries must do to join the World Trade Organization is precisely what they must do to become productive and democratic: accept the rule of law, reduce corruption, and become open, accountable, and transparent. "

" Weapons of mass destruction - nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons - are just that, and no cause can excuse their use. "

" Indeed, in foreign policymaking, inconsistency is often a virtue. I speak not of principles but of policy. "

" The United States, working closely with the United Kingdom and others, established the liberal world order in the wake of World War II. The goal was to ensure that the conditions that had led to two world wars in 30 years would never again arise. "

" Dissent is as American as cherry pie. "

" We all have some basic obligation to one another. "