--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a…" description: "\"Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a robust military, which is essential for backing up diplomacy. But the implication is that we need a balanced tool ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_backing-up_let-me-be-clear-i-m-a-believer-in-a-robu_247345.png" --- # Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a robust military… ![“Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a robust military, which is essential for backing up diplomacy. But the implication is that we need a balanced tool chest of diplomatic and military tools alike. Instead, we have a billionaire military and a pauper diplomacy. The U.S. military now has more people…” quote by Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_backing-up_let-me-be-clear-i-m-a-believer-in-a-robu_247345.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_backing-up_let-me-be-clear-i-m-a-believer-in-a-robu_247345.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_backing-up_let-me-be-clear-i-m-a-believer-in-a-robu_247345.png) > “Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a robust military, which is essential for backing up diplomacy. But the implication is that we need a balanced tool chest of diplomatic and military tools alike. Instead, we have a billionaire military and a pauper diplomacy. The U.S. military now has more people in its marching bands than the State Department has in its foreign service - and that's preposterous.” [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A strong military must be paired with equally strong diplomacy; imbalance leads to ineffective foreign policy. **In simple terms:** Military and diplomacy need balance. Key Takeaway Invest in diplomatic capacity as much as military. Themes foreign policy military diplomacy balance budgeting Mood concerned critical Type analytical policy‑oriented When to use this quote - government budgeting - international negotiations - defense planning - foreign service recruitment Key Concepts Realism hard power soft power resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - How can we reallocate resources to strengthen diplomacy? - What are the risks of a militarized foreign policy? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on military can provoke conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backing Diplomacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backing-diplomacy-2467646/) [Backing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backing-up/) [Balanced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balanced/) [Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/band/) [Believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer/) [Billionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billionaire/) [Chests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chests/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Department](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/department/) [Diplomacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomacy/) [Diplomacy Implication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomacy-implication-2467647/) [Diplomacy Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomacy-military-2467645/) [Diplomatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomatic/) [Diplomatic Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomatic-military-2467644/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Foreign service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-service/) [Implications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/implications/) [Let me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-me/) [Marching band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marching-band/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Robust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robust/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) ## Related quotes > [Diplomacy without military might is like music without instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/diplomacy-without-military-might-is-like-music-without-instruments/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [I had to take the driver's test twice. And they don't make you parallel park anymore, but you can't hit the curb when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-cosgrove/i-had-to-take-the-driver-s-test-twice-and-they-don-t-make-you/) [Miranda Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-cosgrove/) > [Well, you've finally got a license to kill. It's about time. 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I'm doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaco-pastorius/i-m-not-a-star-i-ll-never-be-a-frank-sinatra-or-elvis-presley-or-a/) [Jaco Pastorius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaco-pastorius/) > [People say I don't have great tools. They say that I can't throw like Ellis Valentine or run like Tim Raines or hit with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-rose/people-say-i-don-t-have-great-tools-they-say-that-i-can-t-throw-like/) [Pete Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-rose/) > [I'm not a star. I'm just backing up the cats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaco-pastorius/i-m-not-a-star-i-m-just-backing-up-the-cats/) [Jaco Pastorius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaco-pastorius/) > [I've had pretty good success with Stan (Musial) by throwing him my best pitch and backing up third.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-erskine/i-ve-had-pretty-good-success-with-stan-musial-by-throwing-him-my-best/) [Carl Erskine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-erskine/) > [ Depending on how quickly you get ocean rise, you have people who live in river deltas \[at risk\]. Bangladesh is largely a river delta,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/depending-on-how-quickly-you-get-ocean-rise-you-have-people-who-live-2/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [When I'm with you, bells go off in my head like a moving truck that's backing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-i-m-with-you-bells-go-off-in-my-head-like-a-moving-truck-that-s/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Occasionally I play the music for my mother when she demands to hear it and she always just says, 'Who is that singing? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/occasionally-i-play-the-music-for-my-mother-when-she-demands-to-hear/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [I always go backwards when I am backing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-portis/i-always-go-backwards-when-i-am-backing-up/) [Charles Portis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-portis/) > [All of Dad's relationships ended exactly the same: subpoena, beep of a moving van backing up the driveway, pile of his clothes burning on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/all-of-dad-s-relationships-ended-exactly-the-same-subpoena-beep-of-a/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [He (Bill Terry) once hit a ball between my legs so hard that my center-fielder caught it on the fly backing up against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzy-dean/he-bill-terry-once-hit-a-ball-between-my-legs-so-hard-that-my-center/) [Dizzy Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzy-dean/) ## More by Nicholas D. Kristof > [Random violence is incredibly infectious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/random-violence-is-incredibly-infectious/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Our national leaders tend to try to protect the national interest as they see it. They may screw up in that, but they at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/our-national-leaders-tend-to-try-to-protect-the-national-interest-as/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The north of the Central African Republic is now a war zone, with rival armed bands burning villages, kidnapping children, robbing travelers and killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-north-of-the-central-african-republic-is-now-a-war-zone-with/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/sometimes-i-wish-eastern-congo-could-suffer-an-earthquake-or-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Americans of faith should try as hard to save the lives of African women as the lives of unborn fetuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/americans-of-faith-should-try-as-hard-to-save-the-lives-of-african/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Palestinian militancy has accomplished nothing but increasing the misery of the Palestinian people. If Palestinians instead turned more to huge Gandhi-style nonviolence resistance campaigns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/palestinian-militancy-has-accomplished-nothing-but-increasing-the/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-news-media-s-silence-particularly-television-news-is/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [It’s time for a 21st-century abolitionist movement in the U.S and around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/it-s-time-for-a-21st-century-abolitionist-movement-in-the-u-s-and/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The bulk of the emails tend to come after a column. I can get about 2,000 after a column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-bulk-of-the-emails-tend-to-come-after-a-column-i-can-get-about-2/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [American airstrikes...create risks, especially if our intelligence there is rusty. The crucial step, and the one we should apply diplomatic pressure to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/american-airstrikes-create-risks-especially-if-our-intelligence-there/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Every year 3.1 million Indian children die before the age of 5, mostly from diseases of poverty like diarrhea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/every-year-3-1-million-indian-children-die-before-the-age-of-5-mostly/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [One of the principles of journalism is you don't lie. You never lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/one-of-the-principles-of-journalism-is-you-don-t-lie-you-never-lie/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [You could perhaps better tell the story of a place by writing of a tiny village as a sort of prism into the bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/you-could-perhaps-better-tell-the-story-of-a-place-by-writing-of-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [All of a sudden their husband's dead and maybe a child is dead and they have absolutely nothing - and they're heading through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/all-of-a-sudden-their-husband-s-dead-and-maybe-a-child-is-dead-and/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [“What would men be without women? Scarce, sir, mighty scarce. —MARK TWAIN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/what-would-men-be-without-women-scarce-sir-mighty-scarce-mark-twain/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) [Explore all 107 Nicholas D. Kristof quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) ## More Backing up quotes > [He (Bill Terry) once hit a ball between my legs so hard that my center-fielder caught it on the fly backing up against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzy-dean/he-bill-terry-once-hit-a-ball-between-my-legs-so-hard-that-my-center/) [Dizzy Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzy-dean/) > [All of Dad's relationships ended exactly the same: subpoena, beep of a moving van backing up the driveway, pile of his clothes burning on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/all-of-dad-s-relationships-ended-exactly-the-same-subpoena-beep-of-a/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [I always go backwards when I am backing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-portis/i-always-go-backwards-when-i-am-backing-up/) [Charles Portis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-portis/) > [Occasionally I play the music for my mother when she demands to hear it and she always just says, 'Who is that singing? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/occasionally-i-play-the-music-for-my-mother-when-she-demands-to-hear/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [When I'm with you, bells go off in my head like a moving truck that's backing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-i-m-with-you-bells-go-off-in-my-head-like-a-moving-truck-that-s/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [ Depending on how quickly you get ocean rise, you have people who live in river deltas \[at risk\]. Bangladesh is largely a river delta,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/depending-on-how-quickly-you-get-ocean-rise-you-have-people-who-live-2/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I've had pretty good success with Stan (Musial) by throwing him my best pitch and backing up third.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-erskine/i-ve-had-pretty-good-success-with-stan-musial-by-throwing-him-my-best/) [Carl Erskine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-erskine/) > [I'm not a star. I'm just backing up the cats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaco-pastorius/i-m-not-a-star-i-m-just-backing-up-the-cats/) [Jaco Pastorius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaco-pastorius/) > [People say I don't have great tools. They say that I can't throw like Ellis Valentine or run like Tim Raines or hit with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-rose/people-say-i-don-t-have-great-tools-they-say-that-i-can-t-throw-like/) [Pete Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-rose/) > [I'm not a star. I'll never be a Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley or a Ray Charles. I'm just an imitator, man. I'm doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaco-pastorius/i-m-not-a-star-i-ll-never-be-a-frank-sinatra-or-elvis-presley-or-a/) [Jaco Pastorius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaco-pastorius/) > [You are here and you are allowed to be here and therefore you are allowed to make decisions about yourself and the people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/you-are-here-and-you-are-allowed-to-be-here-and-therefore-you-are/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [If you ahve ever unloaded your pickup by backing up really fast and slamming on the brakes, you might be a redneck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/if-you-ahve-ever-unloaded-your-pickup-by-backing-up-really-fast-and/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [Well, you've finally got a license to kill. It's about time. " I turned and met the amused eyes of Christian Ozera, a onetime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/well-you-ve-finally-got-a-license-to-kill-it-s-about-time-i-turned/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I had to take the driver's test twice. And they don't make you parallel park anymore, but you can't hit the curb when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-cosgrove/i-had-to-take-the-driver-s-test-twice-and-they-don-t-make-you/) [Miranda Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-cosgrove/) > [MR.GOUDY: I believe you testified that you backed away from Aaron Wharton. MR.COGBURN: That is right. MR.GOUDY: You were backing away? MR.COGBURN: Yes sir.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-portis/mr-goudy-i-believe-you-testified-that-you-backed-away-from-aaron/) [Charles Portis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-portis/) [Browse all 23 Backing up quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backing-up/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a robust military, which is essential for backing up diplomacy. But the implication is that we need a balanced tool chest of diplomatic and military tools alike. Instead, we have a billionaire military and a pauper diplomacy. The U.S. military now has more people in its marching bands than the State Department has in its foreign service - and that's preposterous.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas D. 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