Elliott Abrams Quotes
There isn't any way for the people of Nicaragua to find out what's going on in Nicaragua.
Like all forms of collective security, multilateral sanctions require a unanimity rarely achieved in international politics.
When freedom of the press is threatened, the United States should be leading efforts to protect it.
First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes.
The ransoming of captives has been practiced by Jews for many centuries and has been regarded as a greater obligation than charity for the poor.
While Argentina, Brazil, and Chile - what in textbooks used to be called the ABC countries - seem settled into democratic politics and free market economics, the Andean countries are in disarray.
Elections matter, but how much they matter depends entirely on how free, open and fair they are.
While all Alawites fear vengeance against their entire community should Assad fall, there are varying degrees of loyalty to the Assads.
Dubai must crack down on rampant smuggling, and the U.A.E. federal government has significantly stepped up pressure.
The anchors of the Arab consensus have long been Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and both are now weakened forces in Arab politics and diplomacy.
As the Palestinian leadership never seems to pay any penalty for its words, America's seriousness about the peace process is in doubt.
I grew up in Queens, in New York City, in a middle class Jewish family. My mother was a public school teacher, my father was a lawyer. They were Democrats - kind of middle-of-the-road democrats.
There are examples of fraternal dictatorships, or one, anyway: the passing of power from Fidel to Raul Castro.
A great nation like the United States has many and varied interests, and we need both to do business with tyrants and to engage constantly in multilateral diplomacy.
Libya as a country is a relatively new concept. The period of Libya as a modern nation really starts after World War II.
On taking office in 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama put Israeli settlements at the center of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Reformist kings can save their dynasties now by helping their countries move smoothly into democracy, or they will end their years in exile like the Russian aristocrats of a century earlier.
Mass killing has very clearly not been eliminated, nor has the 'international community' developed a response that will avert it or bring it to a quick end.
The United States should help strengthen nongovernmental humanitarian agencies working in Sudan so that they can handle an increased flow of aid.
During most of the Bush administration, human rights and democracy in Egypt were on the front burner.
There is no way around the contradictions and dangers inherent in Israel's decision to free over 1,000 prisoners in order to liberate Gilad Shalit.
Persecution of Christians is growing around the world, and Congress needs to pay more attention to it.
America was not founded to improve health care or housing; it was founded for freedom.
Pundits are used to analyzing the gap between what our ideals suggest and what our security interests require.
The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that just as repeatedly merit and receive punishment.
I never said I had no idea about most of the things you said I said I had no idea about.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned, it seems, to direct the Middle East policy of the Obama administration.
If you say to the White House, 'Obama has been very unfriendly to Israel, ' they say, 'What do you mean? It's the best military-to-military relationship ever.' And that part is true.
The Egyptian military plays positive and negative roles in Egypt, but the most significant single thing it did under Mubarak was to guarantee an Islamist victory once he left the scene.
Even today, when the Obama administration has liberalized travel to Cuba - and failed to reverse that liberalization when Alan Gross was imprisoned - there are limits.
The courage of the Syrian protesters is remarkable, for they face prison, torture, or death every time they lift a banner.
The fake republics are goners the monarchies have a fighting chance. That's my conclusion after a short visit to the Middle East and discussions with officials and analysts there.
