Journalists couldn't do their jobs overseas without taking risks, and the same is true for diplomats and intelligence officers.

Luck is the residue of good planning.

Retrospective analysis is not a useful guide to current problems.

When the big guys in Washington dream of transforming the world, it’s the little guys who come home in body bags.

I think Republicans so mistrust Barack Obama, that if Barack Obama says Putin is terrible, they will be some Republicans who just take the other side.

U.S. has been trying to encourage Iraq to pass a law that would provide money and training and weapons for a Sunni national guard that could be effective in places like Ramadi, like Mosul

Well, I think the U.S. has been careful not to go too far in attacking Iran's allies, in particular in attacking Hezbollah forces in Syria, which have been propping up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

I believe, that there is at least de facto cooperation between United States and Iran, at least in Iraq.

Misdirection. False signals. Spreading confusion. This is the Tao of deception.

The ISI is above all a paramilitary organization. It doesn't do all that much collection of intelligence. It's not a very good spy agency, but it's good at running covert action.

Sometimes James Bond movies drive me crazy. They're fun to watch, but they don't have anything to do at all with what intelligence officers really do.

To find yourself, learn to love yourself.

Please do not mistake me for a twopenny villain. I do nothing without a purpose.

Naturally, business and pleasure can be readily combined, but a certain balance should exist, and the latter should not predominate over the former.

Clapton asked my brother to play on his record. I thought that was the most wonderful thing in the world.

Contentment is a state of the heart, not a state of affairs.

Futility has become a great subject, full of opportunities.

Many Chess players were surprised when after the game, Fischer quietly explained: 'I had already analyzed this possibility' in a position which I thought was not possible to foresee from the opening

I have no story. My story goes from day to day.

The fulfillment of every desire only reveals its inadequacy.