Brent Scowcroft Quotes

We believe we are creating the beginning of a new world order coming out of the collapse of the US-Soviet antagonisms.

An idea can be as flawless as can be, but its execution will always be full of mistakes.

First of all, I think the Saudis are deeply concerned about the collapse of negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the resumption of conflict.

Democracy doesn't just consist of holding elections.

America has never seen itself as a national state like all others, but rather as an experiment in human freedom and democracy.

Saddam's ouster will not necessarily lead to the same result, since Iraq lacks democratic traditions. Democracy doesn't just consist of holding elections.

But there is scant evidence to tie Saddam to terrorist organizations, and even less to the Sept. 11 attacks.

The radical elements in Islam are very dangerous.

It is beyond dispute that Saddam Hussein is a menace.

After all, we didn't bring democracy to Germany in 1945; Hitler destroyed democracy there first.

My point was that removing Saddam should not have been our highest priority. Fighting terrorism should have been our number one concern, followed by the Palestinian peace process.

Information technology has politicized the world's population.

If Iraq were to descend into chaos, the Europeans would feel the effects just as much as we would.

But the central point is that any campaign against Iraq, whatever the strategy, cost and risks, is certain to divert us for some indefinite period from our war on terrorism.

But, if you believe we should go around the world overturning regimes to make little United States, I don't agree with that, because I don't think we're capable of doing that.

I'm afraid that the United States is more isolated today than at any other time in my memory.

The radical elements in Islam are very dangerous. They want to achieve a return to the Islamic purity of the Middle Ages.

The Iraqi elections were an important first step.

Yes, Israel's our ally. But, are the Palestinians our enemy? No, they are not.

Osama bin Laden is going after us to get us out of the region, so he can deal with the regimes that he sees in the region, or replace them with purists.

Many Sunnis, who are still stuck in the Saddam era mindset and believe Iraq belongs to them, are trying to prevent a new country from developing at all.

Progress is only possible if the United States and its allies work together.

Europeans are familiar with terrorism and violence. We have not experienced a true conflict on our soil in a hundred years, and especially not one that involved 3,000 dead.

A colossal event is upon us, the birth of a New World Order.

The UN could help the Iraqi government get on its feet and help the United States withdraw a bit more.

I think above all, what we need with Iran is patience.

The art of diplomacy is to take an opportunity and turn it into something.

The Europeans must finally understand the incredible shock triggered by the attacks of September 11.

Simply killing everyone who is already a terrorist today won't solve the problem.

I think America has to do more than be a broker now. Because both the Palestinians are weak and Israel is very weak.

America wants to work with friends, with allies, with people of good will, to make this a better world.

The Iraqis need help establishing a government. We have to provide them with security.

We must find out where the roots of terrorism lie.

Russia right now is searching for its soul. It's trying to figure out what it really is.

I don't think the Chinese look out at the world and want to overturn the system.

Who is the guarantor, if there is one, of a more stable world? It's the United States.

You know, different people are going to react different ways. And I don't think we should be intolerable because people do things a little differently.

The Russians are not going to do what we want them to do because we want them to do it.

America is stronger than any state probably since the Roman Empire. But we can't do what used to be done with that kind of strength.

Perhaps the most troubling area in the world goes from the Balkans through the Middle East and in Central Asia.

We can't make China a friend, but we can behave to make them an enemy.

It's not for nothing that the Iranians are known as rug merchants. They are.

I think there's nothing more dangerous than mislearning lessons of history, and we do it perpetually.