As countries grapple with modernization, people who are left behind tend to hold firmer and firmer to their view of the evil of modernity.

The World War II generation believed the United States could do anything - anything... And Vietnam was a shattering experience for everyone.

If a country denies it has AIDS, that country will inevitably become an even greater victim.

Nothing generates more heat in the government than the question of who is chosen to participate in important meetings.

Bureaucracies have a natural tendency not to cooperate, coordinate or consolidate with each other. They won't cooperate with each other - unless they are forced to do so by political level authority.

It's an improvisation on a theme. You know where you want to go, but you don't know how to get there. It's not linear.

Diplomacy is like jazz: endless variations on a theme.