American politics are normally a result of pragmatic and not philosophical reasoning. No one in Washington has said we now prefer multilateralism.

The greatest need of the contemporary international system is an agreed concept of order.

Covert action should not be confused with missionary work.

Well, he keeps saying that, and as defense secretary, of course he has to think of a lot of potential enemies. I do not think it's a wise course to articulate this or to base our policy on it. And I do not see under modern circumstances what we would be fighting about.

We are doomed to coexist.

I have learned, as I wrote, that history must be discovered, not declared. It's an admission that one grows in life.

What political leaders decide, intelligence services tend to seek to justify.