American presidents get to make lots of choices, with one critical exception: what awaits them in the in-box on top of the desk in the Oval Office. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share Image
Trump is the first post-World War II American president to view the burdens of world leadership as outweighing the benefits. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share Image
Terrorists and terrorism cannot be eliminated any more than we can rid the world of disease. There will always be those who will resort… — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
There is no way to know for certain what accounts for North Korean decisionmaking, given how closed a country it is. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
Security is the absolute precondition for sustainable recovery from conflict; without it, people cannot rebuild their country or return to school or work. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
When great powers fade, as they inevitably must, it's normally for one of two reasons. Some powers exhaust themselves through overreach abroad, underinvestment at… — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
Americans never would alter the way entitlement programs are funded or education administered without serious study and widespread debate. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
Sovereignty must be redefined if states are to cope with globalisation. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
America's armed forces are an essential background to much of what the U.S. accomplishes internationally. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
No amount of sanctioning will persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, nor will China step up and solve the problem for us. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
Weapons of mass destruction - nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons - are just that, and no cause can excuse their use. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
No one pursuing reasonable goals and who is prepared to compromise can argue that terrorism is his or his group's only option. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
The rise of populism is in part a response to stagnating incomes and job loss, owing mostly to new technologies but widely attributed to… — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
What countries must do to join the World Trade Organization is precisely what they must do to become productive and democratic: accept the rule… — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
I believe in diplomacy; I don't believe in talking to... that talking to Iran somehow constitutes a concession or a favour. — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
I've worked for four presidents, and I've concluded that almost nothing is inevitable. History is to a significant extent the result of the interaction… — Richard N. Haass Copy Share
