Quotes About Diplomacy

My love," he said, his voice intent, "you are welcome to all that I am, all that I have. I would destroy the planet for you. I was even diplomatic for you, which was a bigger sacrifice. A little power drain is nothing.

I learned a lot about how to be frigidly polite and still leave somebody feeling like they'd been spanked.

could land or take off from the planet. They hoped that the young Queen of Naboo would agree quickly to their demands. Then they could use Naboo as an example to persuade or force other planets to do the same. But

It took us most of the morning to put together the letter she sent to the Frontier Management Department, and I learned a lot about how to be frigidly polite and still leave somebody feeling like they'd been spanked.

Had Britain not declared war on Germany in 1914, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and India would not have followed the Mother Country in. Nor would Britain's ally Japan. Nor would Italy, which London lured in with secret bribes of territory from the Habsburg and Ottoman empires. Nor would America have gone to war had Britain stayed out. Germany would have been victorious, perhaps in months. There would have been no Lenin, no Stalin, no Versailles, no Hitler, no Holocaust.

However, if you use the phrase, "Yes, BUT…", you immediately come off as combative. You come off as if you're arguing with them or you are trying to correct them. This turns the conversation into a power struggle. Instead of an ally, you come off as an adversary obviously trying to take control of the agenda.

strategically using your reactions, you can shift the direction to a middle ground that is more acceptable to both of you, and eventually to a topic that you want.

To defuse situations and maximize the illusion of respect, you need to tell people why you are asking or explain why you are telling. Giving someone a justification for your ask turns an order into a reasonable and rational request for assistance.

You are keeping the possibility [of peace] open. No wise leader would do anything less

Let the battle for peace commence

We negotiated peace with them the first time, my girl, because we were in a position of strength. That's how wars work, that's how truces work. We show them we've got more power than they imagine and they're more willing to make peace.

I am in favour of leaving people alone, however imperfect their polity may seem. It appears to me that you must not tell other nations how to set their house in order; nor must you compel them to be happy.

I've always held the belief that you can accomplish more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.

An African leader and I were talking about our various perspectives on the involvement of the United States in several global conflicts.' He startled me with this observation: "From most of the world's perspective, the USA doesn't have friends in the world; it has `interests.

The two grappled in the quiet of old-fashioned personal diplomacy.

I want you to know that, despite what you might read at times in the newspapers or see on the television news, we have actually been getting a lot of things done the last several months, the U.S.-Canada relationship.

When you think about the day-to-day, positive impact on the lives of U.S. citizens, there is no relationship that we have in the world that is more important than our relationship with Canada.

I do want to try to put things in perspective today relative to the U.S.-Canada relationship. I would like to start by talking about how important this relationship is to the people of the United States.

In September 2001, after an unnecessary international war with Ethiopia, half the Eritrean cabinet wrote to the president, Isaias Afwerki, asking him to think again about his autocratic style of government. He thought about it and imprisoned them all.

Winning the war of words involves choosing our words carefully. It is not just about the words we say, but also about the words we choose not to say.

Hans Küng's sobering words: "No peace among nations without peace among religions. And no peace among religions without a greater dialogue among them.

To study foreign affairs without putting ourselves into others' shoes is to deal in illusion and to prepare students for a lifelong misunderstanding of our place in the world.

What was Ted Kennedy up to in May 1983 with that offer to Yuri Andropov via the KGB?

It was December 30, 1933, and the author of the Great Purge wined and dined Bullitt. At the end of a lovely evening together, FDR's new ambassador bade Stalin goodnight with a tender kiss on the cheek; the doting despot dutifully reciprocated.24