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
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
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
The key decision for a statesman is whether to commit his nation or not. There is no middle course. Once a great… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
I have great respect for the Taiwanese. They have done an extraordinary job. But it was not a sustainable position to say… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Left to its own devices, the State Department machinery tends toward inertia rather than creativity; it is always on the verge of… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
The one thing man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
My country's history, Mr. President, tells us that it is possible to fashion unity while cherishing diversity, that common action is possible… — 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
For my generation the relationship with Europe was the central point of American foreign policy. Even during my time in government there… — 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
China is a country with a record of continuous self-government going back 4,000 years, the only society that has achieved this. One… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
We first became conscious of the plane publicly on a Monday. I thought then by the weekend it would be done. But… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Well it did not make excessive sense to say that 20 million people are the recognized government of a billion people that have their own institutions. We did not change it in the sense that we said this has to end, but there was a U.N. vote that transferred the legitimacy of China from Taiwan to Beijing. Beijing was recognized… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
Today, America would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order. Tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially… — 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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad. Technicians cannot master revolutions; every great achievement was an idea before it became a reality. Cathedrals cannot be built by those who are paralyzed by doubt or consumed by cynicism. If a society loses the capacity for great… — 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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
John Paul II was one of the greatest men of the last century. Perhaps the greatest. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
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 Image
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 Image
![“Before the Freedom of Information Act, I used to say at meetings "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer." [...] But since the Freedom of Information Act, I'm afraid to say things like that.” quote by Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6dc/henry-a-kissinger-1068_freedom_before-the-freedom-of-information-act-i_25339.jpg)
