We live in an inter-dependent world. An isolated India is not in our interest.

Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.

The many questions about the bombing of Yugoslavia by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – meaning primarily the United States – come down to two fundamental issues: ‚What are the accepted and applicable ‚rules of world order,‘ and how do these apply in the case of Kosovo?‘

Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America. That’s why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, and positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people.

It is my view that we cannot conduct foreign policy at the extremes.

The U.S. is not constructing a palatial embassy, by far the largest in the world and virtually a separate city within Baghdad, and pouring money into military bases, with the intention of leaving Iraq to Iraqis.

I’ve known and continue to know every one of these major world leaders by their first names, and I have access to them.

A very large majority of the U.S. population is in favor of establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba and has been for a long time with some fluctuations. And even part of the business world is in favor of it, too. But the government won’t allow it.

I believe mutual respect for one another and cooperation should be the basis for relationships with foreign nations.

Foe means enemy. Now, will we have differences of opinion with the Russians? Yes. Will they get mad at us from time to time, and we get mad at them? That’s part of the normal diplomatic relations.

After 2014, we will support a unified Afghanistan as it takes responsibility for its own future.

In a world of complex threats, our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power – including strong and principled diplomacy.

There’s not going to be a World War III, because there is no one to have World War III with.

No country can act wisely simultaneously in every part of the globe at every moment of time.

A world without nuclear weapons would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us.

I consider myself to be as informed on American foreign policy as anyone in America.

It cannot be too often stressed that Israel had no credible pretext for its 2008-9 attack on Gaza, with full U.S. support and illegally using U.S. weapons.

NATO was constructed on the – with the reason, whether one believes it or not, that it was going to defend Western Europe from Russian assault. Once the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union was beginning to collapse, that reason was gone. So, first question: why does NATO exist?

Diplomacy: the art of restraining power.

Foreign policy is like human relations, only people know less about each other.

Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right.

In 1963, the U.N. Security Council declared a voluntary arms embargo on South Africa. That was extended to a mandatory embargo in 1977. And that was followed by economic sanctions and other measures – sometimes officials, countries, cities, towns – some organized by popular movements.

Diplomats are just as essential to starting a war as soldiers are for finishing it… You take diplomacy out of war, and the thing would fall flat in a week.

Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.

Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don’t attack each other. Free nations don’t develop weapons of mass destruction.

I don’t see any possibility of Britain and the U.S. allowing a sovereign independent Iraq; that’s almost inconceivable.

The governments of the present day have to deal not merely with other governments, with emperors, kings and ministers, but also with the secret societies which have everywhere their unscrupulous agents, and can at the last moment upset all the governments‘ plans.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

When I was 18, I went to the Soviet Union. I kept hearing that America was planning to bomb them – lots of bombs were going to come down on these people. I went there not knowing anything, except that I thought the whole thing was stupid and that I wanted to see who these people were that we were going to bomb.

As far as U.S. intelligence knows, Iran is developing nuclear capacities, but they don’t know if they are trying to develop nuclear weapons or not. Chances are they’re developing what’s called ‚nuclear capability,‘ which many states have. That is the ability to have nuclear weapons if they decide to do it. That’s not a crime.

The fact is, with every friendship you make, and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world. That is so important. So when you study abroad, you’re actually helping to make America stronger.

Foreigners don’t want to invest any more in France – and this is not working.

We can not play innocents abroad in a world that is not innocent.

Many things shall change in Cuba, but they shall change because of our efforts and despite the United States. Perhaps that empire shall crumble first.

Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others.

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative.

For a sitting U.S. president to see our allies as freeloaders is nuts.

It makes sense for Japan to pursue a more independent role in the world, following Latin America and others in freeing itself from U.S. domination.

U.S. analysts estimate that Russian military expenditures have tripled during the Bush-Putin years, in large measure a predicted reaction to the Bush administration’s militancy and aggressiveness.

No nation should threaten its neighbors by massing troops along the border.

The global importance of the Middle East is that it keeps the Far East and the Near East from encroaching on each other.

I want the troops from Great Britain and the U.S. to be successful, but by the same token, Afghanistan has always been a screw-up.

We make war that we may live in peace.

A lot of people think international relations is like a game of chess. But it’s not a game of chess, where people sit quietly, thinking out their strategy, taking their time between moves. It’s more like a game of billiards, with a bunch of balls clustered together.

The Iranians have shot down drones. They tried to destroy the Saudi oil fields. They tried to storm our embassy. So, when my Democratic friends say we need appeasement, well appeasement hasn’t worked. And I think that we’ve learned, with respect to Iran, that weakness invites the wolves.

The greatest security for Israel is to create new Egypts.

The United States is supplying the most modern and sophisticated weaponry to Israel to the tune of billions of dollars every year.

Saddam’s goal is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed.

Leadership is absolutely vital if there are comparable countries which can affect the security of the world you live in. Between Lincoln and Roosevelt’s time, America was protected by huge oceans and, in practice, by the British navy. Today, it’s different, and the obsession of the Obama administration has been for retrenchment.

Putin goes to bed at night knowing he can break all the rules, and the West will follow all the rules.

For more than four decades, the Libyan people have been ruled by a tyrant – Moammar Gaddafi. He has denied his people freedom, exploited their wealth, murdered opponents at home and abroad, and terrorized innocent people around the world – including Americans who were killed by Libyan agents.

I don’t know why you use a fancy French word like detente when there’s a good English phrase for it – cold war.

Saudi Arabia has allowed training on its soil of American forces.

In Romania, American forces have found a devoted NATO ally.

Each nation feels superior to other nations. That breeds patriotism – and wars.

When George W. Bush came into office, North Korea had maybe one nuclear weapon and verifiably wasn’t producing any more.

It’s a near miracle that nuclear war has so far been avoided.

Now if there is one thing that we do worse than any other nation, it is try and manage somebody else’s affairs.

For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world – but it doesn’t happen twice.

I used to wish there was a useful term for those of us who thought American power should be used to remove psychopathic dictators.

Law is always better than war.