Kathleen Troia McFarland Quotes

During a negotiation, it would be wise not to take anything personally. If you leave personalities out of it, you will be able to see opportunities more objectively.

We have generals working on worst-case scenarios; we need statesmen on best cases.

Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything.

Never get angry. Never make a threat. Reason with people.

Israel must win every single war that it fights. Our enemies only have to win one war.

I'm too much of a Libra. I too often see the other person's point of view and capitulate, even though I have strong political convictions. It's just my liability. Maybe I'm too empathetic. That's the actor in me.

Always remember that your calmness under fire is your best defense in any argument or discussion.

You don't have to use aggression to squash somebody. You have to use your brain.

It's always a balance... being clear-headed but being aggressive and as combative as you need to be.

Since when was an emotional argument won by logic?

I've spent my life navigating through sensitive issues. Not wanting to upset people.

Number one, that it is smart to communicate and negotiate with your enemy instead of just waging war with bombs and weapons of mass destruction.

But I think that sensitivity is also a good counsellor when it comes to enforcing one's interests.

I'm a private person by nature. I live in my brain half the time, not the world, and I'm not a natural negotiator. But I've learned to negotiate.

I don't want to go down in history as a man who allowed blood to be shed.

Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace.

I don't like to fight.

Violence is my last option.

It's better to get smart than to get mad. I try not to get so insulted that I will not take advantage of an opportunity to persuade people to change their minds.

I have never advocated war except as a means of peace.

People versed in politics need not be told that the devil is in the detail, and tough solutions implying the use of force cannot produce a lasting long-term settlement.

Part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, but in avoiding them. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.

The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war.

We must keep on trying to solve problems, one by one, stage by stage, if not on the basis of confidence and cooperation, at least on that of mutual toleration and self-interest.

I'm used to politics at an international level: people put together an argument and, even if you vehemently disagree with them, well, you can recognise it's an argument and respond.