“Islamic State is mainly a direct result of the failure in Syria. That's where IS has grown. That's where IS spread from.” Quote by Paul Wolfowitz
“The Western alliance should have supported the Sunni opposition against the Assad regime from the beginning. As far as Iraq is concerned, if it had stayed stable the way it was in 2008, IS would not have been able to expand in Iraq the way they did. The mistake was that Barack Obama withdrew the armed forces from Iraq too fast.” IfsWayShouldHas BeensAbleForceMistakeConcernedShould HaveWesternIraqBarackOppositionRegimesStableAlliancesArmed ForcesAssad Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“It would be a huge mistake to abandon democracy promotion. Peaceful political change has been enormously successful in the past years in Eastern European countries as well as in countries like South Korea, South Africa, Chile and Indonesia. However, if possible, the use of force is something to avoid except in cases where genocide is threatened, like Bosnia or Libya or with regimes that threaten our security, like the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.” IfsYearsWellsHas BeensCountryUseWould BePastPoliticalForceMistakeCasesDemocracySuccessfulSecurityHugeSouthPeacefulAbandonGenocideRegimesSouth AfricaThreatenedSaddamEasternHusseinPromotionKoreaIndonesiaTalibanLibyaChileEuropean CountriesBosniaUse Of ForceSouth KoreaPolitical Change Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“After a regime is removed, however, it is dangerous to leave a security vacuum.” SecurityDangerousRegimesVacuums Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“People seem to forget that Saddam was the only leader in the world who praised the attacks of 9/11 as a good thing.” PeopleWorldSeemsForgetLeaderGood ThingsSaddam Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“Saddam Hussein had nerve gas and used it against his own people, he had used chemical weapons against the Iranians and he almost had a nuclear bomb in 1981 and in 1991. And he had been caught with anthrax in 1995 by the UN inspections after denying that he had it.” PeopleUsedWeaponsCaughtNuclearBombsGasNervesChemicalsSaddamHusseinNuclear BombInspectionChemical WeaponsAnthrax Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“If a cat sits on a hot stove once, it will never sit on a cold one either.” IfsColdCatHotStoves Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“I think Obama sees everything through one lens. Doing nothing in the face of the slaughter in Syria is not only shameful, it is unrealistic. This approach leaves Syria as a broken country and a breeding ground for extremists for decades.” ThinkingCountryFacesBrokenApproachDecadesSyriaLensesDoing NothingSlaughterExtremistShamefulBreeding Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“To stay back from an intervention is not always a good solution.” SolutionsIntervention Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“If the Arab world today looked like Tunisia, it would be a huge blow for the extreme ideologies. But Tunisia needs more support than it is getting, particularly from their close neighbors in Europe who have a great stake in North Africa.” IfsWorldNeedsWould BeTodaySupportHugeEuropeBlowExtremesNeighborIdeologyStakesWorld TodayArab WorldNorth AfricaTunisia Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“People change their habits. I know Americans who don't go to Paris because they think it is too dangerous.” PeopleThinkingKnowsDangerousHabitParis Author:Paul Wolfowitz