The written history of the world is largely a history of warfare, because the states within which we live came into existence largely through conquest, civil strife, or struggles for independence.

I think that black Africa is extremely terrifying. Black Africa can become a maelstrom of warring tribes without the outside world needing to feel the need to do anything about it.

I don't think that what's going on in Bosnia is political activity. It's partly political, but it's partly atavistic as well.

It's a necessary quality of a diplomat or a politician that he will compromise. Uncompromising politicians or diplomats get you into the most terrible trouble.

I don't look to find an educated person in the ranks of university graduates, necessarily. Some of the most educated people I know have never been near a university.

Soldiers, when committed to a task, can't compromise. It's unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it's been done.

The great Chinese classics have always said that it's better not to fight; that the clever man achieves his ends without violence; that a battle delayed is better than a battle fought.

The historian ought to be an educated person, writing for other educated people about something which they don't know about, but wish to know about in a way that they can understand.

There are certain wicked people in the world that you can't deal with except by force

The revival of Islam dates from the early years of the 20th century. It was brought about by their humiliation, by their sense of how low they'd fallen compared with the West.

A civilised man is someone who has discovered something more satisfying than combat.

Breaking composure, confidence, and speed in the water makes you lose the race, not the goggles that fell off your head when you dove in.

We need a different kind of leadership in the White House that understands how to get bureaucracies competent again.

Conquerors never, never conquer a nation to bring freedom. They brought control.

I am fascinated by air. If you remove the air from the sky, all the birds would fall to the ground. And all the planes, too.

Gold that buys health can never be ill spent, Nor hours laid out in harmless merriment.

At some point in time it will be right for me to step aside. That may be after this year, but that may be after two or three more years.

No matter what you do, no matter how stupid, dumb or damaging you judge it to be, there is a lesson to be learned from it.

There is no effect more disproportionate to its cause than the happiness bestowed by a small compliment.

The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting.

The difference between MUST & SHOULD is the life you want and the life you have.