Able Quote by Daniel Fried
“George W. Bush tried working with the Russians after 9/11; Obama had the reset. Both presidents achieved less than they wanted, but they both achieved something. Those policies made sense, and it's to the credit of both Presidents Bush and Obama that even as they reached out to Russia, they did not sacrifice core American interests, or core American values. We didn't give the Russians on the altar of better relations other countries. We were able to do two things at once.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on U.S.-Russia Relations, 2010
Both presidents engaged Russia after 9/11, balancing engagement with protecting U.S. interests and values.
In simple terms: Bush and Obama worked with Russia but kept core American values.
Key Takeaway
Engage strategically, protect core values.
Themes
foreign policy
leadership
balance
Mood
cautious
analytical
Type
political
historical
When to use this quote
- diplomatic negotiations
- national security planning
- policy formulation
- international alliance building
Key Concepts
realism
strategic engagement
values preservation
Questions to Reflect On
- How can leaders maintain values while pursuing strategic partnerships?
- What risks arise when core interests are compromised?
A Different Perspective
Balancing engagement and values can limit depth of cooperation.
![“The FBI doesn't get a dime until [James] Comey is gone. George [W.Bush] tried to warn us he was a trouble maker but did Barack [Obama] listen? Nooo!” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d42/hillary-clinton-51_barack_the-fbi-doesn-t-get-a-dime-until-james-c_999601.jpg)
![“[Russians] want to bring us down to make them feel better about the failure of the Soviet Union. I don't mean bring us down as in collapse, but bring us down a notch in a big way.” quote by Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1aa/daniel-fried-8925_bigs_russians-want-to-bring-us-down-to-make-t_348977.jpg)
![“In my view, [Vladimir] Putin despises the West in general and the United States in particular, both for who we are, our liberal values, and for what we've done, which is to take down the Soviet Empire.” quote by Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bcd/daniel-fried-8925_despise_in-my-view-vladimir-putin-despises-the-w_592889.jpg)
![“[Russians would like to] undermine the West and its institutions, create doubts about NATO, create doubts about the European Union, support nationalists on the right just as the Soviet communists supported communists on the left. Weaken the West in general and create an atmosphere in which we're…” quote by Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0bc/daniel-fried-8925_atmosphere_russians-would-like-to-undermine-the-wes_660900.jpg)
![“[Donald Trump administration] didn't ask me to stay and 40 years seemed like enough.” quote by Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5d1/daniel-fried-8925_administration_donald-trump-administration-didn-t-ask-m_807123.jpg)
