Good people cannot fully compensate for bad process, but they can mitigate some of its worst tendencies.

Nationalism is a tool increasingly used by leaders to bolster their authority, especially amid difficult economic and political conditions.

I believe in diplomacy; I don't believe in talking to... that talking to Iran somehow constitutes a concession or a favour.

It is difficult to think of a foreign policy issue that preoccupies and polarizes world opinion as much as the Palestinian question.

Europeans must shed their illusions about what they can accomplish in the world on their own. Loose talk about resurrecting a multi-polar world is just that - loose talk.

Dissent is difficult. It can constitute a real dilemma for the person who disagrees.

Difficult choices, unlike red wine, rarely improve with age.

Wars of necessity are essentially unavoidable. They involve the most important national interests, a lack of promising alternatives to the use of force, and a certain and considerable price to be paid if the status quo is allowed to stand. Examples include World War II and the Korean War.

To be sure, many of the Sykes-Picot borders reflected deals cut in Europe rather than local demographic or historical realities. But that hardly makes the Middle East unique: Most borders around the world owe their legacy less to thoughtful design or popular choice than to some mixture of violence, ambition, geography, and chance.