WIST

History is often cruel, and rarely logical, and yet the wisest of realists are those who recognize that fate can indeed be shaped by human faith and courage.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
“Golda Meir: An Appreciation” (13 Nov 1977)

We must learn to distinguish morality from moralizing.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
(Attributed)

Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
(Attributed)

The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
(Attributed)

There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
(Attributed)
In P. Anderson, "The Only Power Kissinger Has Is the Confidence of the President," New York Times Magazine (1 Jun 1969)

University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
(Attributed)

Even a paranoid has some real enemies.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
(Attributed)
In Newsweek (13 Jun 83)

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
(Attributed)

The expert has his constituency — those who have a vested interest in commonly held opinions; elaborating and defining its consensus at a high level has, after all, made him an expert.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
American Foreign Policy, 1.3 (1969)

Empires have no interest in operating within an international system; they aspire to be the international system.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
Diplomacy, ch. 1 (1994)

The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the other, whom he assumes to have perfect vision. Each side should know that frequently uncertainty, compromise and incoherence are the essence of policy-making. Yet each tends to ascribe to the other a consistency, foresight and coherence that its own experience belies. Of course, over time even two armed blind men in a room can do enormous damage to each other, not to speak of the room.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
White House Years, ch. 13 (1979)

A leader’s fundamental choice is whether to approve the use of force.  If he decides to do so, his only vindication is to succeed. His doubts provide no justification for failure; restraint in execution is a boon to the other side; there are no awards for those who lose with moderation.  Once the decision to use force has been made, the President has no choice but to pursue it with total determination — and to convey the same spirit to all those implementing it.  Nations must not undertake military enterprises or major diplomatic initiatives that they are not willing to see through.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
White House Years, ch. 23 (1979)

In retrospect all events seem inevitable.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
White House Years, ch. 27 (1979)

When one is on a tight rope, the most dangerous course is to stop.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
White House Years, ch. 32 (1979)

A crisis does not always apear to a policy-maker as a series of dramatic events. Usually it imposes itself as an exhausting agenda of petty choices demanding both concentration and endurance. One is forced to react to scraps of information in very limited spans of time; longing for full knowledge, one must chart a route through the murk of unknowing.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
Years of Upheaval, ch. 11 (1982)

The stronger one’s real position, the less one needs to rub in the other side’s discomfiture. It is rarely wise to inflame a setback with an insult. An important aspect of the art of diplomacy consists of doing what is necessary without producing extraneous motives for retaliation, leaving open the option of later cooperation on other issues.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
Years of Upheaval, ch. 21 (1982)

A statesman who cannot shape events will soon be engulfed by them.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
Years of Upheaval, ch. 24 (1982)

In a society of sovereign states, an agreement will be maintained only if all partners consider it in their interest. They must have a sense of participation in the result. The art of diplomacy is not to outsmart the other side but to convince it either of common interests or of penalties if an impasse continues.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
Years of Upheaval, ch. 6 (1982)

A statesman’s final test is whether he has made a contribution to the well-being of mankind.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
Years of Upheaval, ch. 8 (1982)

As a professor, I tended to think of history as run by impersonal forces. But when you see it in practice, you see the difference personalities make.

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
Remark to reporters after first Middle East shuttle visit (Jan. 1974)
Walter Isaacson, Kissinger: A Biography, introduction, 1992