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" You don't need a foreign policy expert to tell you empty threats and hollow promises don't work. Ask any parent of a rebellious teenager. If you don't make good on the threats, you're asking for worse behavior next time. "

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" Al Qaeda attacked the U.S.S. Cole and bombed several U.S. embassies in East Africa in the late 1990s. We knew who did it, but we didn't go after them. Instead, we beefed up security at our embassies and changed the Navy's rules of engagement. It only served to embolden Al Qaeda. "

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Africa

Security

" In foreign policy, the only thing worse than not doing something is doing something that fails or makes the situation worse. "

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Doing

Foreign Policy

Policy

" The problem with people who live in a world of speeches and books and theories is they don't know how to fix things in the real world when they go wrong. They feign ignorance, blame others, and make another eloquent speech. "

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People

Blame

Ignorance

" Empty threats are often worse than saying nothing at all. It's like leading from behind. Eventually, no one thinks you're leading at all. And after a while, no one is even listening. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Saying

Listening

Empty

" Russia does not have a modern economy: it's a petro-power. The only thing it sells that the world wants to buy is oil and natural gas. When was the last time anyone bought a Russian computer? A Russian car? A Russian cell phone? Russia is so dependent on high energy prices that if oil falls below $100 a barrel, the Kremlin can't meet payroll. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Car

Energy

Cell Phone

" We in the West think of peace as society's default position. War is a temporary state of affairs that happens when peace fails. For us, war is something that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When it is over, win or lose, the warring factions lay down their arms and resume their normal lives. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

War

Peace

Society

" Foreign policy is something Americans care about when the economy is good, and when it isn't, they hardly notice it. It's hard to worry about what happens in the Mideast when you don't have a job in the Midwest. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Worry

You

Job

" There is a growing sense among Americans outside the Beltway that while President Obama may be a good talker, he is a lousy manager. "

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Growing

Manager

Outside

" As long as the United States - and the world - gets its oil from the Middle East, we will be drawn into the endless crises that seem endemic to the region. American energy independence would not only liberate us, it would also drive down the worldwide price of oil. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

World

American

Drive

" Don't worry, America. We survived Jimmy Carter, and we will survive Barack Obama. Only one questions remains... who is the next Ronald Reagan? "

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Survive

Questions

Will

" Egypt is the oldest, largest and most important Arab country in the region. What happens there affects them all. "

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Important

Happens

Most

" Krispy Kreme claims the 'batter is the best part.' Same with an Obama speech. It's all about what's on the outside, not what's inside. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Outside

Same

Best

" Reagan won the Cold War by first restoring America's economy and military and then staring down an economically weakened Soviet Union. He knew defeating Russia couldn't be accomplished without laying the groundwork. "

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Down

War

Military

" In politics, a picture is worth a thousand words. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Politics

Worth

Words

" The president doesn't order the military to seize political opponents. He doesn't order his intelligence community to lie about national security for political purposes. He uses the military or intelligence communities to protect the United States and our citizens, not to help him win elections. "

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Lie

Community

Political

" The majority of people think their children's lives will not be as good as theirs. Nearly half of all Americans are no longer proud of their country. Politicians have become a despised breed. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Proud

Children

Think

" While President Putin is busy redrawing the map of Europe, President Obama is busy filling out his brackets. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Out

President

Obama

" Our military leaders don't seize power in coups; our soldiers and sailors don't go on strike for higher pay or benefits; our armed forces don't weigh in on the political process. In return, Americans have a sacred duty to treat them honorably. "

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Process

Power

Political

" Americans don't like to stand by while innocent people are killed and watch a human disaster unfold. It goes against our very fiber. We feel compelled to do something. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Watch

Innocent

Feel

" In the real world, words don't automatically translate into deeds. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Words

Real World

Deeds

" When the commander-in-chief sends Americans to fight and die, it should be only to protect our vital national interests, not for his own personal, political gain. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Own

Political

Die

" Emotions may win arguments, but they don't win wars. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Win

Wars

May

" In the Reagan administration, a great speech was just the first step in a long process. In the Obama administration, it's the only step. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

First Step

Step

Process

" It's the libertarians who want to reclaim decision-making for themselves. It's the small government folks who see government as a great Leviathan gobbling up more and more of their treasure and freedoms. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Treasure

Want

Government

" Americans are slow to anger, but once they do get angry, they are impossible to stop. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Slow

Stop

Angry

" We realize too late that President Bush shouldn't have taken us into Iraq, and President Obama shouldn't have taken us out. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Realize

Late

President

" One of the lessons of Vietnam, which we failed to heed in the Iraq war and the Afghanistan surge, is that before you commit U.S. military forces to aid or assist, it is essential to know what you want them to achieve. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

You

War

Want

" Despite spending trillions of dollars and spilling the blood of thousands of Americans, we remain in servitude to Arab oil. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

Servitude

Oil

Blood

" Every president, as he nears the end of his final term in office, thinks about his place in history. "

Kathleen Troia McFarland

President

End

Office