---
title: "1 Western Countries Quotes By Richard Holbrooke"
description: "1 Western Countries quotes by Richard Holbrooke. Plus more from Richard Holbrooke and more Western Countries sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/richard-holbrooke-16551_countries_we-should-not-be-surprised-that-democrac_944096.png"
---

> [We should not be surprised that democracy is imperfect even in Western countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/we-should-not-be-surprised-that-democracy-is-imperfect-even-in/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/richard-holbrooke-16551_countries_we-should-not-be-surprised-that-democrac_944096.png)

## More by Richard Holbrooke

> [It's an improvisation on a theme. You know where you want to go, but you don't know how to get there. It's not linear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/it-s-an-improvisation-on-a-theme-you-know-where-you-want-to-go-but/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [There are certain kinds of second-tier confrontations which the U.S. does not need to get directly involved in. However, even in the second tier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/there-are-certain-kinds-of-second-tier-confrontations-which-the-u-s/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [I think Americans understand that in Afghanistan, unlike in Iraq and Vietnam, we are fighting an enemy allied with the people who attacked us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/i-think-americans-understand-that-in-afghanistan-unlike-in-iraq-and/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [You have to test your hypothesis against other theories. Certainty in the face of complex situations is very dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/you-have-to-test-your-hypothesis-against-other-theories-certainty-in/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [United Nations peacekeepers are going all over the world spreading AIDS even while they're trying to bring peace. What a supreme irony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/united-nations-peacekeepers-are-going-all-over-the-world-spreading/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [Diplomacy is like jazz: endless variations on a theme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/diplomacy-is-like-jazz-endless-variations-on-a-theme/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [In diplomacy, as in life itself, one often learns more from failures than from successes. Triumphs will seem, in retrospect, to be foreordained, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/in-diplomacy-as-in-life-itself-one-often-learns-more-from-failures/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [The United States supports the reintegration of people who have fought with the Taliban into Afghan society provided they: one, renounce al Qaeda, two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/the-united-states-supports-the-reintegration-of-people-who-have/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [World War I was not inevitable, as many historians say. It could have been avoided, and it was a diplomatically botched negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/world-war-i-was-not-inevitable-as-many-historians-say-it-could-have/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [You will never catch up with the spread of AIDS no matter how much money, no matter how many antiretrovirals are put into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/you-will-never-catch-up-with-the-spread-of-aids-no-matter-how-much/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [A peace deal requires agreements, and you don't make agreements with your friends, you make agreements with your enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/a-peace-deal-requires-agreements-and-you-don-t-make-agreements-with/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [We should not be surprised that democracy is imperfect even in Western countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/we-should-not-be-surprised-that-democracy-is-imperfect-even-in/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [Bureaucracies have a natural tendency not to cooperate, coordinate or consolidate with each other. They won't cooperate with each other - unless they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/bureaucracies-have-a-natural-tendency-not-to-cooperate-coordinate-or/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [A world without the United Nations or with a paralyzed United Nations would be far more costly to all of us and far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/a-world-without-the-united-nations-or-with-a-paralyzed-united-nations/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

> [I'm not a wide-eyed imperialist who wants to see Americans manning outposts all over the world. Not outposts to freedom in the cold war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/i-m-not-a-wide-eyed-imperialist-who-wants-to-see-americans-manning/)

[Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/)

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