After all, we didn't bring democracy to Germany in 1945; Hitler destroyed democracy there first.

I think there's nothing more dangerous than mislearning lessons of history, and we do it perpetually.

Much of what we know about mathematics and trade comes from the Arabs. Then came stagnation, and now they're the West's whipping boy. This is a problem that cannot be solved overnight, and certainly not militarily.

The art of diplomacy is to take an opportunity and turn it into something.

America has never seen itself as a national state like all others, but rather as an experiment in human freedom and democracy.

But figuring out Saddam Hussein was one our greatest mysteries. He marched to his own drummer and frequently as this unfolded he made decisions which were sometimes inexplicable to us and sometimes didn't look very smart.

After the '30s, we said, "no more Munichs." And it got us in a lot of problems. Then we said, "No more Vietnams." Now if we say, "No more Iraqs," the next one won't be an Iraq. It will be something different. You can't learn lessons.