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

Diplomacy is like jazz: endless variations on a theme.

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.

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

A peace deal requires agreements, and you don't make agreements with your friends, you make agreements with your enemies.

There is a split between Muslims who want to practice their faith in peace and tolerance with other religions and other people, and these extreme, radical fundamentalists who have shown a total lack of tolerance for people with different views, starting with people who they don't think are good Muslims, and going on to include Christians and Jews.

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