We Need To Find Means For Cooperation.

I Think About Syria When I Go To Bed At Night.

From Richard Holbrooke - And I Miss Him Every Day - I Learned Two Things. One, Prioritization: Never Take Your Eye Off The Longer-term Reforms. The Other Thing Is, He Was A Hell Of A Schmoozer! So I Should Take Advantage Of My Irish Love Of Beer And Gift Of The Gab, And Build Relationships. That's A Cherished Part Of The Job, Asking Someone, "how Did You Get To Be The Rwandan Ambassador?" I Try To Take Advantage Of The Fact That I Hope To Be Here At Least Until The President's Term Ends Getting To Know My Colleagues.

I Like To Think That As I Get Older I'm Getting Better At Spending Time With People Who Have Qualities That Make Them Worth Spending Time With.

Another Longstanding Foreign Policy Flaw Is The Degree To Which Special Interests Dictate The Way In Which The "national Interest" As A Whole Is Defined And Pursued.... America's Important Historic Relationship With Israel Has Often Led Foreign Policy Decision-makers To Defer Reflexively To Israeli Security Assessments, And To Replicate Israeli Tactics, Which, As The War In Lebanon Last Summer Demonstrated, Can Turn Out To Be Counter-productive.

Since 9/11, There Has Been A Huge Leap In People Wanting To Get Personally Involved In Public Service And International Affairs.