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

There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.

Putin sought to keep Ukraine weak through corruption.

We got rid of a terrible dictator. We gave the Iraqi people an opportunity for a new life under a representative form of government.

War is not an exercise of the will directed at an inanimate matter.

A President cannot always be popular.

I’m doing more of my U.N. work and doing the African Union Summit and things like that.

I think the War on Terror is really absurd, especially coming from a country that is founded on terrorism.

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.

So while I will never minimize the costs involved in military action, I am convinced that a failure to act in Libya would have carried a far greater price for America.

Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right.

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

There’s backlash about everything I do.

Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy, because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood.

The list of U.S. vetoes at the Security Council to protect Israeli aggression and occupation is huge.

America’s promises do not come with a price tag. We meet our commitments. We bear our burdens. That’s one of the reasons why almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago when I took office.

The notion that it is improper to look beyond the borders of the United States in grappling with hard questions has a certain kinship to the view that the U.S. Constitution is a document essentially frozen in time as of the date of its ratification.

I see Libya as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and a sovereign State of the nearly 200 members of the United Nations.

No matter how hard we might wish, we will not be able to transform China’s behavior overnight.

The United States supports a strong, united Ukraine with productive and peaceful relationships with both the East and the West, with both Russia and Europe.

I do not believe any of the statistical claims that are made about public opinion. I don’t see why anybody does.

Public opinion can be influential, the media can be influential.

When President George W. Bush attempted to reform Social Security, that proposal was more unpopular with Americans than the Iraq war. People love their entitlements.

Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion.

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.

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.

We are moving towards a world that is reordering itself and that may appear more ordered at some periods of time, but I see no sign that we are moving towards a world order in my definition of it – namely, a system which is accepted, which is internalized by the majority of the key participants.

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

I have been to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and I have witnessed the racially segregated roads and housing that reminded me so much of the conditions we experienced in South Africa under the racist system of Apartheid.

The American temptation is to believe that foreign policy is a subdivision of psychiatry.

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

You pick up some fans and a handful of haters along the way.

I think, under President Obama, who was a really bright guy – I didn’t agree with a lot of his politics – but we got to the point internationally where our friends didn’t trust us. They were confused. And our enemies didn’t quite respect us.

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 policy that does not rest upon some philosophical public opinion can be permanently maintained.

Is the Iranian record of intervention and terror worse than that of the U.S.?

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.

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 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.

In America, there’s a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world.

I think, in politics, half the people are gonna like you, and half the people are not gonna like you, no matter what you do or what you say… It’s like there are no right answers. If there were, everyone would choose the right answers. They’re all opinions.

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.

Quite frankly, Russian aggression in Ukraine and its illegal occupation of Crimea remind us that we still have a good deal more work to do to guarantee the strategic vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace.

Take the diplomacy out of war and the thing would fall flat in a week.

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

The United States prefers that Iraq meet its obligations voluntarily, yet we are prepared for the alternative.

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

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.

Public opinion in Egypt is very antagonistic to the way the dictatorship, Mubarak dictatorship, interpreted relations with Israel. Very antagonistic.

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.

I heard that when Christina Aguilera went back to her prom, people, like, booed her. I can’t imagine going through that. If you know that’s going to happen, why put yourself in that situation? I’d rather play for 20,000 screaming people, you know?

This was not an act of terrorism, but it was an act of war.

I think it is important for Europe to understand that even though I am president and George Bush is not president, Al Qaeda is still a threat.

I do not believe we will have a war with Iran.

You know, if I listened to Michael Dukakis long enough, I would be convinced we’re in an economic downturn and people are homeless and going without food and medical attention and that we’ve got to do something about the unemployed.

Russia isn’t going to start a war. They can’t afford it. I think Mr. Putin can be dealt with if we stop screaming at him. You can work with the guy. You just have to know who he is.

‚1984‘ is not a wonder tale. Not only could it happen, but it has happened, but under different names.

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

War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means.

One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.

Diplomacy: the art of restraining power.