I'm for democracy, but imposing democracy is an oxymoron. People have to choose democracy, and it has to come up from below.

The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You're trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren't very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.

What's the point of having this superb military you're always talking about if we can't use it?

I do not believe that things happen accidentally; I believe you earn them.

Our strategic dialogue with China can both protect American interests and uphold our principles, provided we are honest about our differences on human rights and other issues and provided we use a mix of targeted incentives and sanctions to narrow these differences.

After the Cold War, to rally the American people to understand that we had to be a part of solutions. It's one thing to say that we have to run everything, it's another to say we don't want anything to do with it.

NATO has been a thread throughout my life.