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Foreign Policy Quotes

Browse 754 quotes about Foreign Policy.

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Foreign Policy Quotes

“There is nothing absurd or impracticable in the idea of a league or alliance between independent nations for certain defined purposes precisely stated in a treaty regulating all the details of time, place, circumstance, and quantity; leaving nothing to future discretion; and depending for its execution on the good faith of the parties.”

IdeasPurposeCertainNationsPartyPolicyCircumstancesIndependentLeavingDetailsAbsurdDefinedLeagueForeign PolicyQuantityExecutionAlliancesDiscretionTreatiesGood Faith
Book:The Federalist, on the new constitution, written in 1788, with an appendix, containing the letters of Pacificus and Helvidius on the proclamation of neutrality of 1793, also the original articles of confederation and the constitution of the United States
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“Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification.”

WarRealNationsInterestCommonCasesPolicyIllusionFormerLatterBetrayForeign PolicyImaginaryJustificationParticipationAdequateQuarrelsEnmityCommon InterestsFarewell Address
Book:George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior: ...And Other Important Writings
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“By a steady adherence to the Union we may hope, erelong, to become the arbiter of Europe in America, and to be able to incline the balance of European competitions in this part of the world as our interest may dictate.”

WorldMayAbleAmericaInterestPolicyBalanceEuropeCompetitionUnionsSteadyForeign PolicyInclineAdherenceArbiter
Book:The Essential Federalist: A New Reading of the Federalist Papers
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“The treaties of the United States, to have any force at all, must be considered as part of the law of the land.”

StatesLawForceUnitedUnited StatesLandPolicyForeign PolicyTreaties
Book:The Federalist, on the new constitution, written in 1788, with an appendix, containing the letters of Pacificus and Helvidius on the proclamation of neutrality of 1793, also the original articles of confederation and the constitution of the United States
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“They are not rules prescribed by the sovereign to the subject, but agreements between sovereign and sovereign.”

SubjectsPolicyAgreementForeign PolicySovereign
Book:The Federalist, on the new constitution, written in 1788, with an appendix, containing the letters of Pacificus and Helvidius on the proclamation of neutrality of 1793, also the original articles of confederation and the constitution of the United States
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“The duty of holding a Neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of Peace and amity toward other Nations.”

MayHumanityNationsJusticeCasesPolicyDutyRelationObligationForeign PolicyFarewell AddressAmity
Book:Washington's Farewell Address: The Proclamation of Jackson Against Nullification, and the Declaration of Independence
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“I rejoice that liberty . . . now finds an asylum in the bosom of a regularly organized government; a government, which, being formed to secure happiness of the French people, corresponds with the ardent wishes of my heart, while it gratifies the pride of every citizen of the United States, by its resemblance to their own.”

PeopleHeartStatesGovernmentWishUnitedLibertyUnited StatesPolicyPrideCitizensMy HeartSecureOrganizedRejoiceForeign PolicyBosomsAsylumsResemblanceArdent
Author:George Washington
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“[America's] glory is not dominion, but liberty. Her march is the march of the mind. She has a spear and a shield: but the motto upon her shield is Freedom, Independence, Peace. This has been her declaration: this has been, as far as her necessary intercourse with the rest of mankind would permit, her practice.”

MindHas BeensAmericaLibertyPracticeMankindPolicyGloryIndependenceMarchPermitForeign PolicyDeclarationMottoShieldsIntercourseDominionSpears
Book:John Quincy Adams and American continental empire: letters, papers and speeches
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“George, your reckless and wanton foreign policies killed my son, Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, in the illegal and unjust war on Iraq. Helping to bring about your political downfall will be the most noble accomplishment of my life, and it will bring justice for my son and the hundreds of other brave Americans and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis your lies have killed.”

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Author:Cindy Sheehan
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“The principal purposes to be answered by union are these the common defense of the members; the preservation of the public peace as well against internal convulsions as external attacks; the regulation of commerce with other nations and between the States; the superintendence of our intercourse, political and commercial, with foreign countries.”

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Book:The Federalist Papers: A Collection of Essays Written in Favour of the New Constitution
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“Far from being reluctantly propelled into hostilities by popular war fever, leaders incite that fever in order to gather support for their war policies. Thereby do they attempt to distract the public from pressing domestic matters, serve the overseas interests of U.S. investors, justify gargantuan military budgets, and present themselves as great leaders.”

WarMatterPoliticalOrderInterestLeaderSupportMilitaryPolicyBudgetsJustifyInvestorsForeign PolicyHostilityGreat LeaderFeverMilitary Budget
Author:Michael Parenti
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“The conservative goal has been the Third Worldization of the United States: an increasingly underemployed, lower-wage work-force; a small but growing moneyed class that pays almost no taxes; the privatization or elimination of human services; the elimination of public education for low-income people; the easing of restrictions against child labor; the exporting of industries and jobs to low-wage, free-trade countries; the breaking of labor unions; and the elimination of occupational safety and environmental controls and regulations.”

PeopleHumansChildrenHas BeensCountryStatesJobsForceGoalUnitedPayClassUnited StatesGrowingPolicyIndustryTaxesLowsLaborThirdsSafetyTradeUnionsEnvironmentalConservativeIncomeForeign PolicyRegulationRestrictionEliminationFree TradePublic EducationLabor UnionLow IncomePrivatizationChild LaborExportingHuman ServiceUnderemployed
Author:Michael Parenti
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“Only by establishing military supremacy were the European and North American colonizers able to eliminate the crafts and industries of Third World peoples, control their markets, extort tribute, undermine their cultures, destroy their villages, steal their lands and natural resources, enslave their labor, and accumulate vast wealth.”

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Author:Michael Parenti
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“A nation as such does not give aid to another nation. More precisely, the common citizens of our country, through their taxes, give to the privileged elites of another country. As someone once said: foreign aid is when the poor people of a rich country give money to the rich people of a poor country.”

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Author:Michael Parenti
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“I believe that if we had and would keep our dirty, bloody, dollar-soaked fingers out of the business of these nations so full of depressed, exploited people, they will arrive at a solution of their own.... And if unfortunately their revolution must be of the violent type because the "haves" refuse to share with the "have-nots" by any peaceful method, at least what they get will be their own, and not the American style, which they don't want and above all don't want crammed down their throats by Americans.”

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Author:Michael Parenti
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“I dream that someday the United States will be on the side of the peasants in some civil war. I dream that we will be the ones who will help the poor overthrow the rich, who will talk about land reform and education and health facilities for everyone, and that when the Red Cross or Amnesty International comes to count the bodies and take the testimony of women raped, that our side won't be the heavies.”

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Author:Michael Parenti
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“Bipartisanship on behalf of an imprudent policy can be folly, just as partisanship on behalf of a just cause can be wise. What is clear is that politics will not stop at the water's edge simply because presidents plead for it. American foreign policy will return to the tradition of Truman and Vandenberg only when the American public demands it.”

CausesPresidentWaterClearWisePolicyReturnDemandTraditionEdgesFollyForeign PolicyBehalfBeing WisePartisanshipTrumanBipartisanshipAmerican Foreign Policy
Author:James M. Lindsay
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“Foreign policy always has more force and punch when the nation speaks with one voice. To remain secure, prosperous, and free, the United States must continue to lead. That leadership requires a president and Congress working together to fashion a foreign policy with broad, bipartisan support. A foreign policy of unity is essential if the United States is to promote its values and interests effectively and help to build a safer, freer, and more prosperous world.”

IfsWorldStatesHelpingTogetherValuesSpeakForceNationsPresidentVoiceInterestUnitedUnited StatesSupportFashionPolicyEssentialsUnityCongressSecureWorking TogetherBroadsForeign PolicyProsperousBipartisanBipartisanship
Author:Lee H. Hamilton
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“Foreign policy of a pluralistic democracy like the United States should be based on bipartisanship because bipartisanship is the means and the framework for formulating policies based on moderation and on the recognition of the complexity of the human condition. That has been the tradition since the days of Truman and Vandenberg all the way until recent times.”

WayShouldHumansMeanHas BeensStatesUnitedUnited StatesDemocracyConditionsPolicyTraditionRecognitionComplexityHuman ConditionForeign PolicyModerationFrameworkTrumanBipartisanship
Author:Zbigniew Brzezinski
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“The foreign policy aim of ants can be summed up as follows: restless aggression, territorial conquest, and genocidal annihilation of neighboring colonies whenever possible. If ants had nuclear weapons, they would probably end the world in a week.”

IfsWorldEndsWeekPolicyWeaponsAimNuclearForeign PolicyNuclear WeaponsAggressionConquestRestlessAntsColonyAnnihilationTerritorial
Book:Journey to the Ants: A Story of Scientific Exploration
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