It is easy to be a moral perfectionist when one is politically unaccountable. Robert D. Kaplan More Quotes by Robert D. Kaplan More Quotes From Robert D. Kaplan Travel is like a good challenging book: It demands presentness-the ability to live completely in the moment. Robert D. Kaplan demand challenges book If you look at the history of the U.S., we were an empire long before we were a nation. Robert D. Kaplan empires long looks It is a cliche these days to observe that the United States now possesses a global empire - different from Britain's and Rome's but an empire nonetheless. Robert D. Kaplan rome united-states america A lot of the changes are so gradual that they don't even qualify as news, or even as interesting: they're so mundane that we just take them for granted. But history shows that it's the mundane changes that are more important than the dramatic 'newsworthy' events. Robert D. Kaplan events important interesting The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan but about any poor undeveloped country is that as big as it looks on the map, it's much bigger when you're there. Robert D. Kaplan maps country looks What does the earth look like in the places where people commit atrocities? Is there a bad smell, a genius loci, something about the landscape that might incriminate? Robert D. Kaplan atrocities smell people Prostitution, black marketeering, and informing on ones neighbors and friends all had such a deep-rooted tradition in Romania that there was a charming naturalness and innocence about it. Robert D. Kaplan innocence neighbors-and-friends black It is time to understand the environment for what it is: the national security issue of the early twenty-first century. Robert D. Kaplan future issues twenties It is development, not poverty, that causes upheaval and terrorism. Robert D. Kaplan upheaval poverty development Wherever you have weakening states and turmoil, you will have a fertile petri dish for terrorism. Robert D. Kaplan dishes terrorism states What Americans cant face is that one of the reasons that the Russians and the Chinese were so impressed with us during the Cold War was the fact that Nixon and Kissinger went on bombing despite public reaction. Robert D. Kaplan chinese faces war What happened on September 11th is at least, theoretically, small stuff compared to what can happen. Robert D. Kaplan september-11 happened stuff The United States is not overdeployed or overextended with deployments in 150 countries on any given year. On any given week we have about 65 deployments. Robert D. Kaplan deployment country years Given the level of anti-Americanism in the world, given the level of frustration with the United States throughout the Muslim world, you've got a homegrown attack or you have a nuclear explosion in the air that is not a test somewhere. Those are still the biggest threats out there. Robert D. Kaplan united-states frustration air The most important thing I learned as a foreign correspondent in about 80 countries is that it takes a very shallow knowledge of history to think that there are solutions to most problems. Robert D. Kaplan important country thinking If you travel around America you see different sections of highways donated by this or that person, and that's a slow beginning of what may end up being a situation common in the Third World: some sections of highways in wealthy areas are beautifully maintained and other parts are just dirt-strewn potholes. Robert D. Kaplan different america world When you talk about aiding this country against that country or about fighting terrorism, when you actually take that decision and strip it down, it always comes down to one person in the field giving specialized training to somebody else in the field. Robert D. Kaplan fighting giving country An idea is only an idea if it causes unease, debate and reflection. By that standard, Thomas Homer-Dixon's concept of an 'ingenuity gap' is truly a new idea. I can think of no other new concept that so fully condenses all of the challenges we face as a human civilization than the 'ingenuity gap'. Homer-Dixon has found a way to unite all of our concerns about economics, war, population growth, complexity, etc. under a single heading. He is one of an elite group of academics who can write for a mass audience. Robert D. Kaplan reflection writing war The masses cannot ultimately be free: only the individual can be. Robert D. Kaplan individual mass The more dynamic the capitalistic expansion, the greater the disparity. It is from the disparity that we are going to get all the political upheaval for the next few years. Robert D. Kaplan expansion political years
