I would say the special experience of American wartime policy in the last 40 years, from Vietnam on, is that the war itself became controversial in the country and that the most important thing we need in the current situation is, whatever disagreements there may be on tactics, that the legitimacy of the war itself does not become a subject… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share
I was always convinced that decent people in the case of Vietnam, highly intelligent, decent people, got us involved because they had… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Some of the critics viewed Vietnam as a morality play in which the wicked must be punished before the final curtain and… — Henry A. Kissinger Copy Share Image
Let me make my point about Vietnam. When the Nixon initiation came into office, there were 550,000 Americans in combat. And ending… — 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)
