If you look back at the first Gulf war, the Arabs sent forces, they sent money. So their interests in Iraq are clear, but they're nowhere to be seen now. Why? Because right now, it's dangerous to be seen as supporting the United States. Brent Scowcroft More Quotes by Brent Scowcroft More Quotes From Brent Scowcroft I think that America is a part of the world, that we want to cooperate with the world. We are not the dominant power in the world, that everyone falls in behind us. But we want to reach out and cooperate. Brent Scowcroft america fall thinking I don't think the Chinese look out at the world and want to overturn the system. Brent Scowcroft chinese looks thinking I believe the Chinese are gradually realizing that they're dependent on the system that, as they run out of energy, for example, they have to reach out to foreign sources for energy, for raw materials. They have to reach out to the world for markets. They have to export. They have to maintain full employment. They've got a terrible population problem. So they need a stable world, in a way. Brent Scowcroft population-problem running believe Who is the guarantor, if there is one, of a more stable world? It's the United States. Brent Scowcroft united-states ifs world We can't make China a friend, but we can behave to make them an enemy. Brent Scowcroft behave china enemy The Russians are not going to do what we want them to do because we want them to do it. Brent Scowcroft want Since the days of Peter the Great, Russians have been maybe Europeans who didn't share in the enlightenment and the reformation, or are they Mongol Asians with the European veneer. And they've gone back and forth. Brent Scowcroft enlightenment share gone Russia right now is searching for its soul. It's trying to figure out what it really is. Brent Scowcroft russia soul trying We have never recognized that Iran lives in a dangerous neighborhood. And it's not surprising that they want some protection. We have not been forthcoming about explaining a security relationship for the region, in which Iran can feel secure and thus maybe willing to do something. Brent Scowcroft protection iran want It's not for nothing that the Iranians are known as rug merchants. They are. Brent Scowcroft merchants known I think above all, what we need with Iran is patience. Brent Scowcroft iran needs thinking America wants to work with friends, with allies, with people of good will, to make this a better world. Brent Scowcroft want america people Much of what we know about mathematics and trade comes from the Arabs. Then came stagnation, and now they're the West's whipping boy. This is a problem that cannot be solved overnight, and certainly not militarily. Brent Scowcroft problem west boys The radical elements in Islam are very dangerous. They want to achieve a return to the Islamic purity of the Middle Ages. Brent Scowcroft islamic elements age Saddam is a familiar dictatorial aggressor, with traditional goals for his aggression. Brent Scowcroft his goals traditional aggression So far the changes in the president in his second term have been mainly of a rhetorical nature. Brent Scowcroft far changes nature president
