Mark Esper Quotes

We will continue to be a big contributor to NATO and our interests will be more secure.

Israel is absolutely critical to American national security.

Why shouldn't Turkey be in the Shanghai Five?

Just this week, Syria broke off all relations with the United States military and the CIA.

We also have a real opportunity to join NATO.

Sanctions are not diplomacy; they are a precursor to war.

What is the point in punishing a country?

Saudi Arabia is the bulwark of our relationship, especially when it comes to Iran, and without the partnership of Saudi Arabia and our other Gulf allies, we would not be able to have the maximum economic pressure campaign that we have.

The Hungarian people voted for NATO membership. We are active in the joint actions of NATO.

In my judgment, us assisting the Chinese military in advancing technologically is not in U.S. national interests.

The Americans made the decision out of principle to buy Russian equipment for us because our pilots and mechanics were trained on Russian aircraft. But, then, as a result of the Ukraine crisis, the US Congress imposed sanctions on Russia and the equipment could no longer be delivered to us. I am proud of our security and defense forces.

China, North Korea's last ally in the world has just voted agaisnt them [in the United Nations]. What would you do if you thought every country in the world was against you and you wanted to survive? You would buy insurance. And the best insurance you could get to prevent invasion would be nuclear weapons, and that is just what North Korea has done. So now, when the President [Trump] threatens them, what do they do? They go out and buymore insurance.

Sanctions on Pakistan have been part of the troubled U.S.-Pakistan relationship in the past and should not be considered as an option in the future.

International economic and political sanctions on Iran, as crucial as they may be, are only an initial step, and must be dramatically increased.

Iran is not interested in a war. Iran is capable of defending itself and teaching a very harsh lesson to anybody who commits aggression against Iran, but we're not interested.

Will we forever live by our sword? We definitely will live with our sword. I don't think our children or grandchildren won't be soldiers. We must make efforts to try and not live only by our sword, but we will always be with a sword.

There is an alliance between Israel and the United States, and it has never been stronger than at the time of George W. Bush.

I'm against lifting any sanctions on the Russians.

Israel has a security concern involving geography. But geography does not have the same value it did in 1967.

We must make clear that the United States will not tolerate hostile Russian activities against us or our allies.

If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.

Politicians often call for sanctions as a way of sounding tough when they don't want to take riskier measures.

China is the one, the only one, that can control Kim Jong Un, this crazy, fat kid that's running North Korea.

We have to build an iron wall to protect Israel.

Iran is a bad and dangerous actor in a volatile region of the world, which is why Congress enacted sanctions in response to the ballistic missile program and support for terrorist proxy groups. We must hold senior Iranian leadership accountable for destabilizing actions in the region and around the world.