What political leaders decide, intelligence services tend to seek to justify. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Well, the capacity of French intellectuals to understand a Texan way of thinking is finite. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
The nuclear weapons were not useful for the achievement of political objectives. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
University politics make me long for the simplicity of the Middle East. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Peace depends ultimately not on political arrangements but on the conscience of mankind. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Oil is much too important a commodity to be left in the hands of the Arabs. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Statesman create; ordinary leaders consume. The ordinary leader is satisfied with ameliorating the environment, not transforming it; a statesman must be a… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
American politics are normally a result of pragmatic and not philosophical reasoning. No one in Washington has said we now prefer multilateralism. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
The public life of every political figure is a continual struggle to rescue an element of choice from the pressure of circumstance. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
The American formal position has been that we oppose violence by governments against their people. That principle should not be abandoned. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
The defining issue is that the government in Taiwan was considered to be the government of all of China, and the authorities… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
I think an appeal to American idealism and willingness to sacrifice would be an important contribution, because what is happening now in… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
If you mean by "military victory" an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
I can think of no faster way to unite the American people behind George W. Bush than a terrorist attack on an… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
In the period after the Second World War, there were still leaders in Europe who represented weak countries, but possessed a sense… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Diplomats operate through deadlock, which is the way by which two sides can test each other's determination. Even if they have egos… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Depopulation should be the highest priority of foreign policy towards the third world, because the US economy will require large and increasing… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad.… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
I believe it is a mistake to isolate arms control from other areas of policy. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
Before the Freedom of Information Act, I used to say at meetings "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer." [...]… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
The convictions that leaders have formed before reaching high office are the intellectual capital they will consume as long as they continue in office. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad. Technicians cannot… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
Jews were segregated from 1933 on. We could only play against other Jewish teams. This wasn't just social segregation; this was the beginning of… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
The Russian people, at least the ones I know, have pride in being a Russian. And, therefore, they want to be taken seriously in… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
There are only two reasons to sit in the back row of an airplane: Either you have diarrhea, or you're anxious to meet people… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
John Paul II was one of the greatest men of the last century. Perhaps the greatest. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
Taiwan will probably not declare independence. The question isn't independence. The issue is whether Taiwan will declare itself as a sovereign separate state. That… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
China is a country with a record of continuous self-government going back 4,000 years, the only society that has achieved this. One must start… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
With proper tactics, nuclear war need not be as destructive as it appears. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
I think a resumption of the Cold War would be a historic tragedy. If a conflict is avoidable, on a basis reflecting morality and… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
University politics make me long for the simplicity of the Middle East. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
