The first reactions are often instinctive. So one of the first things we said was that the Chinese had no right to… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Where position is felt to be a birthright, generosity is possible (though not guaranteed); flexibility is not inhibited by a commitment to… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Every time there has been an attempt to disturb it, it led to two things. It led to immediate intense conflict with… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
The position is that stability and peace in Asia depend on a cooperative relationship between China and the United States. — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Everybody who has dealt with China over an extended period of time has come to more or less the same conclusions. There… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
The Gorbachev period is conceived as an abandonment of historic Russian positions. So this is the framework, in my view, in which… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
I would have said, before the World Trade Center events, that he would try to get a normal relationship with China -… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
If a Chinese plane landed at Los Angeles Airport having just bought down an American military plane, he wouldn't be permitted to… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
In a nuclear war, even if one side were to come out ahead by systems analytical standards, both sides would be so… — 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
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 Chinese, on the other hand, were in the position of having an American military spy plane on a Chinese military base… — 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… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
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
