Foreign policy is an explicitly amoral enterprise.

From Richard Holbrooke - and I miss him every day - I learned two things. One, prioritization: Never take your eye off the longer-term reforms. The other thing is, he was a hell of a schmoozer! So I should take advantage of my Irish love of beer and gift of the gab, and build relationships. That's a cherished part of the job, asking someone, "How did you get to be the Rwandan ambassador?" I try to take advantage of the fact that I hope to be here at least until the president's term ends getting to know my colleagues.

The story of U.S. policy during the genocide in Rwanda is not a story of willful complicity with evil. U.S. officials did not sit around and conspire to allow genocide to happen.

No more than a surgeon can operate while tweeting can you reach your potential with one ear in, one ear out. You actually have to reacquaint yourself with concentration. We all do.

It is easy to get used to the morning news, habituated. But don't. The morning news is yours to alter.

The U.S. government engages with many countries around the world in official dialogues on human rights.

As a journalist, I've felt as if it's a privilege that people share their stories and want you to be the messenger.... Even in my current job, when I go abroad, I'm racing to get back to the president and the secretary to share what I've seen.