Oil is much too important a commodity to be left in the hands of the Arabs.

In the middle '50s, I had written that the point would come, inevitably, at which the relationship between the cause of conflict and political objectives would be lost.

Statesmen think in terms of history and view society as an organism. Prophets are different since they believe absolute aims can be achieved in the foreseeable future. More people have been killed by crusaders than by statesmen.

Of course, in principle, they're against it. We are the ones that keep asking them what they think about it. I think their basic concern is a land-based missile defense of Taiwan hooked into the American communications and other systems, which in effect would make Taiwan then an outpost of the United States. That is a concern they frequently express. A missile defense shield of the United States, while they may not like it, it is not a big obstacle to our relationship.

Intelligence is not all that important in the exercise of power, and is often, in point of fact, useless.

If peace is equated simply with the absence of war, it can become abject pacifism that turns the world over to the most ruthless.

Don't be too ambitious. Do the most important thing you can think of doing every year and then your career will take care of itself.