H. R. McMaster Quotes

I'm a mediator by training and inclination.

My actions to promote peace, the mediation missions which I carried out during many conflicts, which very often occurred between brothers of the same country, are not driven by any ulterior motives or any calculations based on personal ambitions.

I was always the mediator.

On the other hand, the waging of peace as a science, as an art, is in its infancy. But we can trace its growth, its steady progress, and the time will come when there will be particular individuals designated to assume responsibility for and leadership of this movement.

Winning the peace is harder than winning the war.

It is our duty to persuade the nations of the world, in whatever way that we can, to settle their differences in some other way. (Other than war)

Surely diplomacy is needed when there is conflict, not when there is harmony.

Peacemaking and peacekeeping should run in parallel.

Only external authority—the United Nations—can bring about the necessary arrangements to prevent both communities from killing one another.

We have to develop preventive diplomacy.

Though peace be made, yet it's interest that keep peace.

According to the “ripeness theory,” every conflict reaches a point when the parties are tired of confrontation and determine it is in their interest to make peace. With practical steps, principled leadership, and encouragement from the international community, the peace process still represents a win-win for both sides.

Without third parties, all forward movement stops. They're essential. They're not just OK. They are absolutely essential.

When somebody says, 'Oh, Buffy, you're such a warrior for peace', I stop them and say, 'No, I'm not really a warrior for peace. What I promote is alternative conflict resolution'.

Having served in the military, I know that militaries can stop a problem, but they can't fix a problem.

Maintaining peace can be as strenuous as winning a war.

I'm a huge mediator.

Mediation is one of the most effective tools of non-violence. It can turn parties away from conflict, towards compromise.

It is far easier and more effective - and not just in terms of cost - to prevent conventional conflicts than to intervene after an eruption of violence.

The Peacekeepers had a tradition that every problem had a solution. It was a nice slogan. Wasn't true, but it sounded good.

I always say, you're going to have to ask someone else, but I believe the purpose is to stand as a reconciler, a bridge builder.

The full potentialities of human fury cannot be reached until a friend of both parties tactfully intervenes.

I'm not aiming for the Nobel Peace Prize!

There is no conflict in the world that cannot be solved.

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