The security of Israel is a moral imperative for all free peoples.

I have been observing China for more than 30 years and am impressed how logically and wisely it tackles its problems. Obviously the international system could be unbalanced by China's rising power - if we don't prepare ourselves for the new competitive situation, that is. But it is an economic challenge, not aggression on the level of Hitler.

Diplomats operate through deadlock, which is the way by which two sides can test each other's determination. Even if they have egos for it few heads of government have the time to resolve stalemates, their meetings are too short and the demands of protocol too heavy.

He [Deng Xiaoping] said that he did not understand why we failed to grasp that the alternative was not democracy, but total chaos and risking all the reforms that had been achieved.

An Iranian moderate is one who has run out of ammunition.

In my particular case foreign policy happens to be my hobby, my consuming interest. I had spent decades studying it.

The real distinction is between those who adapt their purposes to reality and those who seek to mold reality in the light of their purposes.