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Richard Perle

Richard Perle Quotes

Political scientist

Richard Perle is an American political scientist born on September 16, 1941. He has had a significant influence in the fields of American foreign policy and national security, serving as the chairman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee.

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Famous Richard Perle Quotes

“Acknowledge that a more closely integrated Europe is no longer an unqualified American interest.”

Interest Europe Acknowledge Integrated Unqualified

Author:Richard Perle

“Dictatorships start wars because they need external enemies to exert internal control over their own people.”

People Needs War Enemy Internals Dictatorship Start Wars

Author:Richard Perle

“George Tenet has been the director of central intelligence since 1997, time enough to have changed the Agency's culture. He has failed. He should go.”

Should Has Beens Enough Culture Changed Directors Agency

Author:Richard Perle

“In any event, the problem in Iran is much bigger than weapons. The problem is the terrorist regime that seeks the weapons. The regime must go.”

Problem Events Weapons Bigger Terrorist Iran Regimes

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“Right now, American law bars the admission of aliens suspected of terrorist activity - but not of terrorist sympathies.”

Law Right Now Activity Terrorist Bars Aliens Admission American Law

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“But if the UN cannot or will not revise its rules in ways that establish beyond question the legality of the measures the United States must take to protect the American people, then we should unashamedly and explicitly reject the jurisdiction of these rules.”

People Ifs Way Should States United United States Protect Rejects Jurisdiction Legality

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“National sovereignty is an obligation as well as an entitlement. A government that will not perform the role of a government forfeits the rights of a government.”

Wells Government Roles Rights Obligation Sovereignty Entitlement Forfeit National Sovereignty Entitlement Programs

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“Non-citizen terrorist suspects are not members of the American national community, and they have no proper claim on the rights Americans accord one another.”

Community Rights Citizens Members Claims Terrorist Suspects Accord National Community

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“The lax multiculturalism that urges Americans to accept the unacceptable from their fellow citizens is one of this nation's greatest vulnerabilities in the war on terror.”

War Nations Accepting Citizens Fellows Terror Vulnerability Urges Multiculturalism War On Terror Lax

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“There is no doubt that, with the exception of a very small number of people close to a vicious regime, the people of Iraq have been liberated and they understand that they've been liberated.”

People Has Beens Numbers Doubt Iraq No Doubt Exception Regimes Vicious Liberated Small Numbers

Author:Richard Perle

“I think there is a potential civic culture in Arab countries that can lead to democratic institutions and I think Iraq is probably the best place to put that proposition to the test Well, you're going to find a disproportionate number of Jews in any sort of intellectual undertaking.”

Thinking Wells Country Culture Numbers Intellectual Tests Institutions Democratic Iraq Jew Propositions Civics Undertakings Best Place

Author:Richard Perle

“The programme of the British Labour Party under Neil Kinnock is so wildly irresponsible, so separate and apart from the historic NATO strategy, that I think a Labour government that stood by its present policies - and I rather doubt that they would - would, if it didn't destroy the Alliance, at least diminish its effective ability to do the task for which it was created.”

Ifs Thinking Government Ability Party Doubt Policy Tasks Strategy British Labour Diminish Historic Alliances Irresponsible Programmes Nato Labour Party

Author:Richard Perle

“When you gaze into souls, it's something you should update periodically, because souls can change.”

Should Soul Updates

Author:Richard Perle

“I think we have an administration today that is dysfunctional. And if it can't get itself together to organize a serious program for finding nuclear material on its way to the United States, then it ought to be replaced by an administration that can.”

Ifs Thinking Way States Today Together United United States Serious Materials Ought Findings Program Nuclear Administration Replaced Organize

Author:Richard Perle

“Dictators must have enemies. They must have internal enemies to justify their secret police and external enemies to justify their military forces.”

Force Secret Enemy Military Police Internals Justify Dictator Military Force Secret Police

Author:Richard Perle

“To stop terrorists before the strike, we must do three things: deny them entry into the country, curtail their freedom of action inside the country, and deprive them of material and moral support from within the country.”

Country Action Three Moral Support Materials Deny Strikes Terrorist Three Things Entry Moral Support

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“The jealousy and resentment that animate the terrorists also affect many of our former cold war allies.”

War Cold Terrorist Former Jealousy Allies Resentment Cold War

Author:Richard Perle

“For us, terrorism remains the great evil of our time, and the war against this evil, our generation’s great cause … There is no middle way for Americans: it is victory or holocaust.”

Way War Evil Causes Generations Middle Victory Remains Terrorism Our Time Holocaust Our Generation Middle Way

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“Law-abiding citizens value privacy. Terrorists require invisibility. The two are not the same, and they should not be confused.”

Should Two Law Values Citizens Terrorist Confused Privacy Abiding Invisibility Law Abiding Citizen Invisibility Cloak

Author:Richard Perle

“No one is talking about occupying Iraq for five to ten years.”

Years Talking Five Ten Iraq

Author:Richard Perle

“Iraq is a very wealthy country. Enormous oil reserves. They can finance, largely finance the reconstruction of their own country. And I have no doubt that they will.”

Country Doubt Iraq Oil Enormous Finance No Doubt Wealthy Reserves Reconstruction

Author:Richard Perle

“These are lies, there is not a word of truth in them.”

Author:Richard Perle

“Few governments in the world, for example, praise human rights more ardently than does the government of France, and few have a worse record of supporting tyrants and killers.”

World Humans Doe Government Records Rights Example Praise Human Rights France Tyrants Killers

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“No operational commander should have to assign a soldier a task that could be done as well by a computer, a remote sensor, or an unmanned airplane.”

Should Wells Done Computer Tasks Should Have Soldier Airplane Commanders Aeroplanes Sensors

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“We should force European governments to choose between Paris and Washington.”

Should Government Force Europe Paris

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“The same European governments that hesitated to confront terrorists were more than prepared to oppose us.”

Country Government Prepared Terrorist European Countries

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“We may be so eager to protect the right to dissent that we lose sight of the difference between dissent and subversion.”

May Loses Differences Protect Sight Dissent Subversion

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“In time, all of Korea will be united in liberty.”

United Liberty Korea

Book:An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Source: An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

“Even now, the irony that so non-intellectual a man should choose to engage the Soviet Union on the battlefield of ideas has eluded most commentators and historians.”

Men Should Ideas War Cold Intellectual Unions Irony Historian Soviet Cold War Soviet Union Battlefields Commentators

Author:Richard Perle

“Sometimes the things we have to do are objectionable in the eyes of others.”

Author:Richard Perle

“Support for Saddam, including within his military organization, will collapse after the first whiff of gunpowder.”

Firsts Support Military Organization Including Collapse Saddam Gunpowder

Author:Richard Perle

About the Author

Born: September 16, 1941
Known for: Political scientist
Quotes: 31

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