Theodore C. Sorensen Quotes

The best way to solve problems and to fight against war is through dialogue.

All States do not have the same interests, but are there any interests which cannot be infinitely better reconciled before than after a war?

Better talk than fight, if nothing of sovereign value is anyway lost. Dialogue has achieved more than confrontation in many parts of the world.

A display of reason rather than a threat of force should be the determining factor in the intercourse among nations.

I trust the time is nigh when, with the universal assent of civilized people, all international differences shall be determined without resort to arms by the benignant processes of civilization.

If I could cause world peace by taking someone out to lunch, I'd go, 'Well, war isn't that terrible.'

Every government has as much of a duty to avoid war as a ship's captain has to avoid a shipwreck.

The surest way to prevent war is not to fear it.

Every time that we've ever fought, we fought to keep from bein' destroyed. We've never started a war.

There is nothing that war has ever achieved that we could not better achieve without it.

It is to be observed that every case of war averted is a gain in general, for it helps to form a habit of peace, and community habits long continued become standards of conduct.

Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means.

It's better to have a dialogue with your enemies than not.

In this age there can be no losers in peace and no victors in war. We must recognize the obligation to match national strength with national restraint.

I am not—as I am sure I will be charged—for peace at any price, but for an honorable rational, and political solution to this [the Vietnam] war.

The alternative is not war or doing nothing. Whoever rejects war is not doomed to appeasement.

The strength of a civilization is not measured by its ability to fight wars, but rather by its ability to prevent them.

I have desired as sincerely as any man—I sometimes think more than any other man—that our present difficulties might be settled without the shedding of blood.

Our Russian policy must not be dictated by people who have already made up their minds there is no possibility of working with the Russians and that our interests are bound to conflict and ultimately lead to war. From my point of view, this is an untenable position and can but lead to disaster.

It is our belief that nations should embrace dialogue and peaceful settlement of disputes instead of rushing to arms, for suffering and bloodshed will ensue.

I think that we, as a civilization, need to sit down and figure out how to solve political problems over a table, not over a battlefield.

History has proved that the most ardent enemies have settled their differences through talks and not war.

I believe that dialogue is necessary. We were unable to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through only the sanctions and pressure.

Diplomacy is much more than just talking to your friends... You've got to talk to people who aren't our friends, and even people you dislike.

There should be an honest attempt at the reconciliation of differences before resorting to combat.