I'm afraid that the United States is more isolated today than at any other time in my memory. Brent Scowcroft More Quotes by Brent Scowcroft More Quotes From Brent Scowcroft Many Sunnis, who are still stuck in the Saddam era mindset and believe Iraq belongs to them, are trying to prevent a new country from developing at all. Brent Scowcroft iraqbelievecountry The Europeans must finally understand the incredible shock triggered by the attacks of September 11. Brent Scowcroft incrediblesseptemberseptember-11 But figuring out Saddam Hussein was one our greatest mysteries. He marched to his own drummer and frequently as this unfolded he made decisions which were sometimes inexplicable to us and sometimes didn't look very smart. Brent Scowcroft smartdecisionlooks To sum up, the position we took was that since we didn't know the internal situation in Iraq nor Saddam Hussein, that our best bet was to take counsel from the people who did know him and who did deal with him. Brent Scowcroft iraqhusseinpeople But the central point is that any campaign against Iraq, whatever the strategy, cost and risks, is certain to divert us for some indefinite period from our war on terrorism. Brent Scowcroft iraqriskwar My point was that removing Saddam should not have been our highest priority. Fighting terrorism should have been our number one concern, followed by the Palestinian peace process. Brent Scowcroft fightingshould-havenumbers We must find out where the roots of terrorism lie. Brent Scowcroft terrorismrootslying After all, we didn't bring democracy to Germany in 1945; Hitler destroyed democracy there first. Brent Scowcroft germanydemocracyfirsts I think there's nothing more dangerous than mislearning lessons of history, and we do it perpetually. Brent Scowcroft dangerouslessonsthinking First of all, I think the Saudis are deeply concerned about the collapse of negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the resumption of conflict. Brent Scowcroft conflictfirststhinking Simply killing everyone who is already a terrorist today won't solve the problem. Brent Scowcroft killingproblemtoday Perhaps the most troubling area in the world goes from the Balkans through the Middle East and in Central Asia. Brent Scowcroft asiamiddle-eastworld Progress is only possible if the United States and its allies work together. Brent Scowcroft alliesprogressworking-together It is beyond dispute that Saddam Hussein is a menace. Brent Scowcroft menacedisputeshussein The Iraqis need help establishing a government. We have to provide them with security. Brent Scowcroft governmenthelpingneeds Because national borders are eroding, because of the growth of non-state actors. It's a different kind of a world. We are tied down by a tiny little country - Iraq. It's amazing, given the disparity in military economic strength. It's a world where most of the big problems spill over national boundaries, and there are new kinds of actors and we're feeling our way as to how to deal with them. Brent Scowcroft iraqmilitarycountry The radical elements in Islam are very dangerous. Brent Scowcroft radicalislamelements America is stronger than any state probably since the Roman Empire. But we can't do what used to be done with that kind of strength. Brent Scowcroft strongerdoneamerica For most of mankind, the average person knew what was happening in his own village and the next one, and nothing beyond that, and he didn't care, so that leaders were able to guide their countries almost irrespective of what people really thought because they weren't involved in it. Now, everybody knows what's happening instantaneously. Brent Scowcroft averagecountrypeople Information technology has politicized the world's population. Brent Scowcroft populationtechnologyworld
