Diplomatic Impact Quotes

America is a large friendly dog in a small room. Every time it wags its tail it knocks over a chair.

I dare predict that the influence of the Treaty of Renunciation of War will be felt in a large proportion of all future international acts.

Could you imagine if the U.N. had endorsed the war in Iraq, what our reputation would be like?

There has to be a reason and objective (to air strikes). What does it do to move the effort down the road for a political conversation?

The image of a country is not just about economic and military strength. The soft face of a country also makes a difference. Sports are one such soft power which can capture the world's attention to India.

[the war in Iraq] "could have terrifically good effects troughout the Middle East

The words spoken by the leader of the free world can expand the frontiers of freedom or shrink them.

Her coming here has meant more than anything else President Nixon could have done.

What was most striking about the Obama speech in Berlin was not anything he said so much as the alternative reality it fostered: many American children have never before seen huge crowds turn out abroad to wave American flags instead of burn them.

When you're a candidate and you say something that is inaccurate or controversial, it has less impact than it does when you're president of the United States. Everybody around the world's paying attention. Markets move. National security issues require a level of precision in order to make sure that you don't make mistakes.

A break-up of the U.K. would affect the deployment and strength of its armed forces and play havoc with the ownership of its overseas consulships and embassies.

The president sets the tone. He creates the atmosphere, and that can be enlightened, progressive, or it can be intimidating, depending on what the president's agenda is. I think the other dimension of this that I worry about is impacts overseas with friends and allies, many of whom are very, very concerned about America's position in the world and whether or not it's going to continue its leadership, which has been the prevalent condition since World War II.