Stephen Kinzer Quotes

Our Cuba policy didn't make much sense during the Cold War and makes even less sense now.

I think a policy of isolationism toward Cuba is misplaced and hasn't worked.

We believe US threats of an approaching World War III and their use of Iran's nuclear issue as an excuse is another form of American insanity.

Once in 1979, [Zbigniew] Brzezinski gave an important slogan: "Bye-bye PLO." After two months, I was in Tehran saying to him: "Bye-bye Brzezinski." Who can imagine that America will lose one of its strongest bases?

I still remember, as a kid, tying a yellow ribbon around a tree in front of my house during the 444 days that Iran held 52 Americans hostage. Iran is not a place we should be doing business with.

From time to time, the irresponsible acts of the Cuban government remind us that this is far more than about the freedom of one country, but it really is about the stability and security of the region and the national security interests of the United States.

Already, China has undermined U.S. foreign policy in efforts to gain access to oil resources in Iran and Sudan. We simply cannot separate the political and economic values of oil.

By linking these countries together in his 'axis of evil' speech, President Bush implied an identity between them not only in terms of their threat, but also in terms of the action necessary to deal with the threat. A lot of work will now need to be done to delink the three, and to show why military action against Iraq is so much more justified than against Iran and North Korea.

I don’t want some bearded dictator ninety miles off thumbing his nose at us.

The overall or political objective is to impose upon Russia the will of the United States and British Empire.

We are running out of enemies. We are down to Fidel Castro and Kim Il Sung.

Iran is for negotiations…. This is the principle of Iranian Foreign Policy…. Iranians should make sure that the United States is not using pressure on Iran for negotiations.

If the United States credibly threatens to treat Pakistan like it does Iran, Pakistan’s leaders would find it best to cooperate.

It’s about time we talked to Cuba instead of fighting a war that is 40 years old.

We can deal with Iran if it is a nation but not if it is a cause.

If we can deter the Soviet Union, if we can deter North Korea, why on earth can't we deter Iran?

Both World War II and the subsequent Cold War gave America's involvement in world affairs a clear focus. The objectives of foreign policy were relatively easy to define, and they could be imbued with high moral content.

Russia is not our friend.

Our potential adversaries are watching us, and they have seen what has happened to us... This is why we're dealing with a very problematical and troublesome Putin, and we're dealing with Iran in a very terrible agreement we had.

While Democrats, including Barack Obama, mocked the notion that Russia is the greatest threat to our country, nobody has been tougher on Russia and Vladimir Putin than President Donald Trump.

Our Cuba policy was a major obstacle to getting things done in the hemisphere and a source of tension around the world.

Iran would do well to look at the calendar and realize there's a new president in the Oval Office. And Iran would do well not to test the resolve of this new president [Donald Trump].

[Cuba's goverment] is an anti-American government.

The United States is going to continue to punish Iran because of its defiance.

Another mess I inherited, and we have imposed new sanctions on the nation of Iran who has totally taken advantage of our previous administration, and they're the world's top sponsor of terrorism, and we're not going to stop until that problem is properly solved, and it's not properly solved now.