It is, after all, the responsibility of the expert to operate the familiar and that of the leader to transcend it.

The Western concept of democracy is based on the idea that the loser of an election has the possibility next time round of being the winner. But in the case of an ethnically or religiously divided country, in which minorities don't live peacefully together, this necessary balance can't be properly guaranteed by democracy. When each ethnic group arms itself, it is not surprising that the army of a new state is viewed by part of the population as an ideological militia.

We are all the President's men.

Behind the slogans lay an intellectual vacuum.

The idea of abstract power only exists for academics, not in real life.

Competing pressures tempt one to believe that an issue deferred is a problem avoided; more often it is a crisis invited.

It is frankly a mistake of amateurs to believe you can gain the upper hand in a diplomatic negotiation.