Quotes from Richard N. Haass

What is obvious is that Donald Trump is comfortable with an approach to running his presidency based on what worked for him in the private sector.

Dissent is difficult. It can constitute a real dilemma for the person who disagrees.

Black markets exist any time there is a profit to be made.

White House staff are meant to coordinate and set policy, not carry it out.

It is in the interest of Americans to find out what those wanting to be president think about a wide range of challenges and what they might do about them. We should want to get their take on the wisdom of past decisions, what they agree and disagree with, and why.

Americans never would alter the way entitlement programs are funded or education administered without serious study and widespread debate.

Terrorism is a decentralized phenomenon - in its funding, planning, and execution.

No one pursuing reasonable goals and who is prepared to compromise can argue that terrorism is his or his group's only option.

Homegrown terrorists are a real problem for even the most modern, democratic societies.

Terrorists continue to be outliers with limited appeal at best.

Russia may well be willing to stop interfering in Eastern Ukraine in exchange for a degree of sanctions relief if it could be assured that ethnic Russians there would not face reprisals.

Difficult choices, unlike red wine, rarely improve with age.

The Trump administration has been characterized by adhocracy during its initial months. The initiative limiting immigration is a case in point. The new policy was not vetted fully within the administration - indeed, then-Acting Attorney General Sally Yates first read the decision after the text of the new executive order was published online.

Terrorists and terrorism cannot be eliminated any more than we can rid the world of disease. There will always be those who will resort to force against innocent men, women, and children in pursuit of political goals.

To be sure, many of the Sykes-Picot borders reflected deals cut in Europe rather than local demographic or historical realities. But that hardly makes the Middle East unique: Most borders around the world owe their legacy less to thoughtful design or popular choice than to some mixture of violence, ambition, geography, and chance.

Not every threat to America's national interests can be addressed with military power.

America must reduce its fiscal deficit, modernize its infrastructure, and improve its schools.

Our inability to govern ourselves at home, to deal with everything from infrastructure to our debt to tax policy, is reducing the appeal of the American model.

For too long, America tolerated a 'democratic exception' in the Muslim Middle East. As long as governments were friendly and backed regional stability, there was no need for outsiders to encourage representative government.

Modern terrorism is too destructive to be tolerated, much less supported.

I tend to be one of those who does not equate democratization with the holding of elections. The emphasis ought to be on such things as rule of law, economic reform, and promotion of a free media - in short, essentially independent, free institutions.

An open, market-oriented, and peaceful Iraq could also advance reform and growth across the entire region.

Diplomacy can and will matter; little is inevitable in international relations.

What countries must do to join the World Trade Organization is precisely what they must do to become productive and democratic: accept the rule of law, reduce corruption, and become open, accountable, and transparent.