Quotes from Elliott Abrams

Tunisia is small - just ten million, no great natural resources.

Never fight turf on turf. Fight it on the basis of ideas.

Turkey's solidarity with Hamas is not, of course, based on Arab nationalism, which as a non-Arab nation it does not support. It is instead based on a definition of the Mideast conflict as one between Jews and Muslims, precisely the position of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.

The Sandinistas are a tough bunch of guys, with a fabulous amount of Soviet Bloc equipment and Soviet Bloc advisers.

Reagan did not wait out the Soviets; he beat them.

First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes.

George McGovern and his supporters committed what, in a two-party system, are capital crimes: they did not compromise, they took hard ideological positions, they alienated a large portion of their party's traditional supporters, and they lost - very, very badly.

Obama isn't good off the cuff, especially when challenged; he is far better with a prepared speech.

In 2007, early in the improbable presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, the young first-term senator began a series of foreign-policy speeches that seemed too general to provide a guide to what he might do if elected.

There are no Muslim ghettos in the U.S.

During the election campaign of 2000, it was generally thought that then-governor Bush didn't know much about foreign policy or national security affairs, and that Colin Powell would lead on that front, while the president's main concern would be domestic.

For decades, the Arab states have seemed exceptions to the laws of politics and human nature. While liberty expanded in many parts of the globe, these nations were left behind, their 'freedom deficit' signaling the political underdevelopment that accompanied many other economic and social maladies.

Two presidents pursued human rights policies that were serious and effective: Reagan and George W. Bush. They understood that American support for human rights activists is a moral imperative for us and also makes the world safer for us.

Obama is like the kid brother whose only standard for judging his own achievements is the records his big brother set.

I never said I had no idea about most of the things you said I said I had no idea about.

Opponents of U.S. sanctions have made 'unilateral sanctions' their special target. They argue that sanctions observed by many nations would be much more effective. True enough. Far better for trade with an outlaw regime to be restricted by many nations than by just one.

The question was never whether the United States, E.U., NATO, Arab League, U.N. Security Council, and African Union could together using economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and military attacks to bring Qaddafi down. The question was always how much time, how much blood, and what damage to NATO.

Being an Arab leader has its rewards: the suite at the Waldorf-Astoria during the United Nations General Assembly, travel in your own plane, plenty of cash, even job security - whether kings, sheiks or presidents, with or without elections, most serve for life.

There is no softer target in GOP primaries than the United Nations and foreign-aid spending.

At the United Nations, a lynch mob for Israel is always just a moment away.

Enlightened despots are mythical creatures; real despots seem more interested in stealing money or installing their sons after them.

Dubai must crack down on rampant smuggling, and the U.A.E. federal government has significantly stepped up pressure.

The United States should encourage Israel to take further steps to improve the Palestinian economy.

Even today, when the Obama administration has liberalized travel to Cuba - and failed to reverse that liberalization when Alan Gross was imprisoned - there are limits.