Chas W. Freeman Jr. > Quotes

“Amiability: Diplomats must strive to build and maintain cordial personal relations with officials of the government to which they are accredited. Amiability on the surface, no matter how strained relations may be beneath it, keeps open channels of communication that can be vital to the resolution of issues between states when the time to resolve them is at hand.

Amity, cross-cultural: "There is a mutual bond of amity and brotherhood between man and man over all the world ... Nor is it distance of place that makes enmity, enmity makes distance. He therefore that keeps peace with me, near or remote, of whatever nation, is to me as far as all civil and human offices an Englishman and a neighbor ... This is gospel."

— John Milton, 1649

Anger: Never get angry except on purpose.”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Conquest: "All territorial expansion, all seizures by force or by cunning ... are merely the cruel workings of political madness and abused power, the effect of which is to increase administrative expense and confusion and to diminish the comfort and security of the governed merely to indulge the whim or vanity of their governors."

— Talleyrand

Constancy: "In ... cases which involve imminent peril there will be found somewhat more of stability in republics than in princes. For even if the republics were inspired by the same feelings and intentions as the princes, yet the fact of their being slower will make them take more time in forming resolution, and therefore they will less promptly break their faith."

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Consul: "In American politics, a person who having failed to secure an office from the people is given one by the Administration on condition that he leave the country."

— Ambrose Bierce, 1906

Consuls: "Consuls are the Cinderellas of the diplomatic service."

— A consul, quoted by Eric Clark”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Compromise: "[A compromise is] such an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives each adversary the satisfaction of thinking he has got what he ought not to have, and is deprived of nothing except what was justly his due."

— Ambrose Bierce

Concessions: In negotiation, the more concessions are made, the more are expected by those receiving them. Therefore, while minor concessions may be necessary to establish mutual confidence that agreement is possible and to demonstrate good faith, the best strategy is usually to withhold major concessions until the final stage of negotiation, when they can be used to secure an agreement.

Concessions, sham: "One common method of minimizing real concessions and taking advantage of situational pressure to reciprocate concessions is to incorporate sham conditions into a basic negotiating platform, elevate them to the level of other 'genuine' demands, and try to barter them off for some gain."

— Michael Blaker”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Arbitration: The process of adjudication of a dispute by a tribunal, a majority of whose members are appointed by the disputantas, whose decision to the disputants agree to accept as final and binding. Contrast Conciliation.

Arbitration: Arbitration should not be entered lightly. It can allow a third party to determine the destiny of your nation, perhaps at the expense of its vital interests. Arbitrate only if you manifestly have principle on your side but are so weak that you must call on others to enforce it.

Arbitration: "International arbitration may be defined as the substitution of many burning questions for a smoldering one."

— Ambrose Bierce

Arbitration, defense through resort to: "It is impossible to attack as a transgressor him who offers to lay his grievance before a tribunal of arbitration."

— King of Sparta, quoted by Thucydides [cf. History of Peloponnesian War, Book 1 Chapter 85.2]”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Flatterers: "He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander."

— Napoleon

Flattery: Diplomats must have no delusions of grandeur, but they should know how to induce them in others.

Flattery: "Flattery pleases very generally. In the first place, the flatterer may think what he says to be true; but, in the second place, whether he thinks so or not, he certainly thinks those whom he flatters of consequence enough to be flattered."

— Samuel Johnson

Flattery, influence through: "Praise other men whose deeds are like those of the person you are talking to; commend other actions which are based on the same policies as his. If there is someone else who is guilty of the same vice he is, be sure to gloss over it by showing that it really does no great harm; if there is someone else who has suffered the same failure he has, be sure to defend it by demonstrating that it is not a loss after all. If he prides himself on his physical prowess, do not antagonize him by mentioning the difficulties he has encountered in the past; if he consider himself an expert at making decisions, do not anger him by pointing out his past errors; if he pictures himself a sagacious planner, do not tax him with his failures. Make sure that there is nothing in your ideas as a whole that will vex your listener, and nothing about your words that will rub him the wrong way, and then you may exercise your powers of rhetoric to the fullest. This is the way to gain the confidence and intimacy of the person you are addressing and to make sure you are able to say all you have to say without incurring his suspicion."

— Han Feizi, as translated by Burton Watson

[誉异人与同行者，规异事与同计者。有与同污者，则必以大饰其无伤也；有与同败者，则必以明饰其无失也。彼自多其力，则毋以其难概之也；自勇其断，则无以其谪怒之；自智其计，则毋以其败穷之。大意无所拂悟，辞言无所系縻，然后极骋智辩焉，此道所得亲近不疑而得尽辞也。——《韩非子·说难》]”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Battle: "[A battle is] a method of untying with the teeth a political knot that would not yield to the tongue."

— Ambrose Bierce

Battlefied results, diplomacy and: "Diplomacy has rarely been able to gain at the conference table what cannot be gained or held on the battlefield."

— Walter Bedell Smith, 1954

Blockade: The use by a state or coalition of military force to prevent imports or exports from the territory of another state or coalition, a measure just short of war that leaves the actual initiation of hostilities to the decision of those being blockaded.

Bluffing: Avoid deadlines and ultimata unless you mean them. Otherwise, the other side may use them against you.

Blunders, bureaucratic: "In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, when there is a quarrel between two states, it is generaly occasioned by some blunder of a ministry."

— Benjamin Disraeli, 1858

Blunders, diplomatic: "Our diplomats plunge us forever into misfortune; our generals always save us."

— Otto von Bismarck, c. 1850”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Alliance: "In international politics, [an alliance is] the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third."

— Ambrose Bierce

Alliance: "An alliance is like a chain. It is not made stronger by adding weak links to it."

— Walter Lippmann

Alliance: "A wise prince sees to it that never, in order to attack someone, does he become the ally of a prince more powerful than himself, except when necessity forces him."

— Niccolò Machiavelli, 1513”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Pacifism: "Like a snake devouring a mouse, the Earth devours a king who is inclined to peace."

— Arthasastra of Kautilya

Pacifism: "Virtue, stripped of force, reveals its own weakness. ... A state which only defends itself against its powerful neighbors with justice and moderation will be defeated sooner or later."

— Abbot Mably, 1757

Peace: "Peace itself is war in masquerade."

— John Dryden, 1682

Peace, as primary policy objective: "Whenever peace — conceived as the avoidance of war — has been the primary objective of a power or a group of powers, the international system has been at the mercy of the most ruthless member of the international community. Whenever the international order has acknowledged that certain principles could not be compromised even for the sake of peace, stability based on an equilibrium of forces [has been] at least conceivable."

— Henry A. Kissinger, 1964

Peace, bad: "There never was a good war or a bad peace."

— Benjamin Franklin, 1773

Peace, bad: "A bad peace is even worse than war."

— Tacitus, c. 110

[See The Annals III.44: Miseram pacem vel bello bene mutari.]”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Neighbors: "Every power has an interest in seeing its neighbors in a state of weakness and decadence."

— Stendhal (Henri Beyle), 1818

Neutrality: A status of declared aloofness and noninvolvement by a state in actual or potential hostilities between other states, asserted because the state declaring neutrality considers that its interests are not engaged in their struggle or that these interests would be better served by remaining outside the realm of contention. See also Nonalignment.

Neutrality: "Even to observe neutrality you must have a strong government."

— Alexander Hamilton, 1787

Neutrality, armed: "When a country abjures its intention of exploiting a conflict between two other parties, it is in fact signaling that it has the capacity to do so and that both parties would do well to work at preserving that neutrality. So too, when a nation expresses its 'deep concern' over a military contingency, it is conveying that it will assist — in some as yet unspecified way — the victim of what it has defined as aggression."

— Henry A. Kissinger, 1994

Neutrality, virtues of: "It rarely pays to get between a dog and a lamp-post."

Attributed to Cordell Hull”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Commerce, diplomacy and: "From its beginnings, ... diplomacy has been especially concerned with trade; ... back to the earliest diplomatic records which still survive."

— Adam Watson, 1983

Commerce, imperialism of: "Commerce is entitiled to a complete and efficient protection of all its legal rights, but the moment it presumes to control a country, or to substitute its fluctuation expedients for the high principles of natural justice that ought to lie at the root of every political system, it should be frowned on, and rebuked."

— J. Fenimore Cooper, 1838

Commerce, promotion of, by ambassadors: Ambassadors must be their nation's cheif trade promotion officers in the countries to which they are accredited.”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Diplomats, qualities of: "In the exercise of the functions of the diplomat, the qualities which will be most useful are a sharp discernment, sound judgement, studied opinion, firm convictions, and a humble bearing."

— Baron Silvercruys, 1956

Diplomats, qualities of the perfect: "The essential qualities of a diplomatists ... [are that]: He is conciliatory and firm; he eludes difficulties which cannot immediately be overcome only in order to obviate them in more favorable conditions; he is courteous and unhurried; he easily detects insincerity, not always discernible to those who are themselves sincere; he has a penetrating intellect and a subtle mind, combined with a keen sense of humor. He has an intuitive sense of fitness; and is ... adaptable. He is at home in any society and is equally effective in the chanceries of the old diplomacy or on the platforms of the new."

— A. L. Kennedy, 1922

Diplomats, training of: "[Apprentice diplomats] must be made fully to understand that there is nothing more important for the good of the service and their own advancement than to secure for themselves a well-established reputation of being safe and trustworthy men, so that those who shall have to do with them may feel that they will not be betrayed and that any secret revealed to them will be kept."

— Marquis de Torcy, 1711, cited by J. J. Jusserand”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Communication among diplomats: "Communication among diplomats is a two-way street: one cannot expect to obtain much information unless one is able and willing to convey information. The ambassador with whom everyone wants to talk is the one who is interesting to talk with."

— Karl Gruber, 1983”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Charity, publicity about: "The giver of charity should not mention it; and the receiver should not forget it."

— Arab proverb

Charity, recipients of: "Beware of the evil from the recipient of your charity."

— Arab proverb

Circumstance: "Circumstance is neutral; by itself it imprisons more frequently than it helps. A statesman who cannot shape events will soon be engulfed by them; he will be thrown on the defensive, wrestling with tactics instead of advancing his purpose."

— Henry A. Kissinger”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“He [President of Kazakhstan] said things about Donald Trump that I would be embarrased to say about God.

(Excerpt from interview "Amb. Chas Freeman: GLOBAL POWER SHIFT: Ukraine, Central Asia, Middle East & Venezuela")”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr.

“Propaganda: An aspect of political warfare consisting of the public dissemination of information, whether truthful or deceptive, intended to promote strategic or ideological objectives. Propaganda may be attributed, that is, acknowledged to be the product of the state that authored it; unattributed; or attributed to a source other than its true one.

Propaganda: "Vilify! Vilify! Some of it will always stick."

— Beaumarchais

Propaganda: "Propaganda is that branch of the art of lying which consists in nearly deceiving your friends without quite deceiving your enemies."

— F. M. Cornford, 1978

Propaganda: "Not all propaganda is deceptious — though much of it is. But all propaganda is tendentious. Governments do not wish to tell the world of their shortcomings. In deciding what to tell the world — the truth as one sees it, part of that truth, what is known to be untrue — expedience prevails over ethics. What matters is not the truth of the message but the credibility of the message. And the
estimate of the credibility of the message is determined by the estimate of the gullibility of the masses."

— James Eayrs”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Fact-finding missions: Fact-finding missions are a standard diplomatic device when inaction is judged to be preferable to action. Such commissions take time to assemble, to organize their studies, to reach a consensus, and to write their reports. With luck, by the time they submit their conclusions to those who commissioned them, the problem will have taken a new form or gone away.

Failure, in negotiations: At times the collapse of negotiations without agreement is to be applauded rather than regretted. This is certainly the case where stalemate is tolerable and agreement could only have been reached through excessively disadvantageous concessions to the other side. It may also be the case where unilateral action or a resort to war can reasonably be expected to produce the adjustments negotiations could not, and at less long-term cost to the national interest.”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Interests: "It is a maxim, founded on the universal experience of mankind, that no nation is to be trusted farther than it is bound by its interest, and no prudent statesman or politician will venture to depart from it."

— Geroge Washington, 1778

Interests, among allies: It is common for nations that are close allies to assert that their interests are identical. This is always hyperbole at best, and at worst a delusion. The interests of two states may coincide for a time, or be parallel with regard to a particular subject matter or objective, but they are never identical. In the end, they will diverge and may even come into opposition.

Interests, as basis of agreements: Agreements between nations must rest on real interests and verifiable commitments, not trust. Trust is ephemeral; interests last. Intentions are important, and it is vital to understand them accurately. In the end, however, it is even more important to know how nations perceive their interests than to understand them objectively. A nation's view of its national interests determines whether its intentions are fantasies or plans of action.”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Customs: "Never attempt to export [your country's] habits and manners, but to conform as far as possible to those of the country where you reside — to do this even in the most trivial things — to learn to speak their language, and never to sneer at what may strike you as singular and absurd. Nothing goes to conciliate so much, or to amalgamate you more cordially with its inhabitants, as this very easy sacrifice of your national prejudice to theirs."

— Lord Malmesbury, 1813

Customs, consequences of ignorance of: "Ignorance of each other's ways and lives has been a common cause ... of that suspicion and mistrust between peoples of the world through which their differences have all too often broken into war."

— United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Charter”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Insinuation: "One often meets men who are as difficult to convince as they are to arouse and who disdain all ideas other than their own. Neither a lack of intelligence nor a lack of sentiment is the cause of this difficulty: it is rather their attachment to their own thoughts, their vanity of never learning anything from anyone else, their suspicion of formal propositions, which renders men deaf to the voice of persuasion. With characters of this kind one must use insinuation, which is a roundabout way of suggesting ideas so that the hearer believes he has invented them himself. Since the little passions that block these minds' entrance to truth are very common and are found somewhere in every character, the art of insinuation is of more general usage than that of direct persuasion."

— Fortune Barthélemy de Felice, 1778”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“No war ends until the enemy, whoever it is, has accepted the reality that the war has produced.

(Excerpt from interview "Amb. Chas Freeman: The Delusional Policies Driving America's Decline")”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr.

“Peacekeepers will not produce peace. They will produce a truce, a continued stalemate like the one in Korea which has never been resolved. Constant danger of war breaking out again. That is something that is emphatically not in anyone's interest. [...] Austria had a security guarantee that has guaranteed it for now 70 some years, and there no American or Russian or British or French troops on the ground in Austria at all. And yet it has a security guarantee. Switzerland has a security guarantee dating from 1820. I think it's entirely possible. People think about security guarantees in a purely military sense, that guarantees that military force will be used: it does not prevent it.

(Excerpt from interview "AMB. Chas Freeman : Can the US Bring Peace?")”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr.

“Foreign policy: "The Game of nations ... differs from other games ... in several important respects. First, each player has his own aims, different from those of the others, which constitute 'winning'; second, every player is forced by his own domestic circumstances to make moves in the Game which have nothing to do with winning and which, indeed, might impair the chance of winning; third, in the Game of nations there are no winners, only losers. The objective of each player is not so much to win as to avoid loss.

"The common objective of the players in the game of nations is merely to keep the Game going. The alternative to the Game is war."

— Zakaria Mohieddin, 1962

Foreign policy: "There is a vital difference between foreign policy and diplomacy. Foreign policy is the strategy of diplomacy."

— Roberto Regala, 1959

Foreign policy, bureaucratic: Policies made by bureaucracies are the opposite of strategy. They are the vector of competing egos, institutions, and viewpoints — a compromise intended to appease contentious domestic interests rather than a serious attempt to grapple with the issues and interests of the foreign states to which they are purportedly directed. Such policies invite contempt from strong leaders; they often receive it.”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“The basic principle of any negotiation is that you have to get buy-in from anyone who has the capacity to wreck the outcome. And there are a lot of people in Europe who could wreck the outcome. Not just the Russians, not just the Ukrainians, others. So this is very complicated and it's just at the beginning. And I note that the fighting, as I predicted, has not stopped as negotiation begin.

(Excerpt from interview "Amb. Chas Freeman: Europeans FURIOUS Over JD Vance’s SHOCKING Comment!")”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr.

“The words that have precise meanings, if they're overused, become insults and lose their meaning. What is a terrorist? A terrorist is anyone who does not support Israel. [...] The original definition of terrorists has never been entirely clear. A terrorist is someone who has a grudge and no air force. And so he has to use some other invented means to express his anger at being oppressed.

(Excerpt from interview "Amb. Chas Freeman: The U.S. Could Be Heading Toward Disaster Faster Than You Think")”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr.

“There will be a negotiation [on Ukraine]. One thing you have to remember always: every negotiation, whatever it is about, is a negotiation about two things. One is the terms of specific issue, and the other is the nature of the relationship you have with the other party. And Russia has a big problem: it has to reconcile Europe through the defeat of NATO in Ukraine, and to a new situation in which Ukraine is partitioned, the Russian-speaking areas will be under Russian control one way or another.

I argued that Russia should remember what Churchill advised, and that is to be magnanimous in victory. But I don't think the Russian mood is very supportive of that, and I understand that completely. Nevertheless it's an essential thing: Russia in the long run cannot change its geography. It is part of Europe, as well as part of Asia. It needs to repair its image, its relationships, its cooperation with other Europeans. And those other Europeans, in turn, need to remember their history: they can't have peace and stability without a decent relationship with Russia, which is part of Europe, whether they like it or not.

(Excerpt from interview "Amb. Chas Freeman: The Delusional Policies Driving America's Decline")”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr.

“Personnel: "Let me control personnel, and I will ultimately control policy. For the part of the machine that recruits and hires and fires and promotes people can soon control the entire shape of the institution, and of our foreign policy."

— George F. Kennan, 1970

Personnel: "The skillful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man. For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death."

— Du Mu

[cf. Du Mu's commentary to Sunzi's The Art of War (《孙子集注》) Book 3: 黄石公曰：「善任人者，使智、使勇、使贪、使愚，智者乐立其功，勇者好行其志，贪者邀趋其利，愚者不顾其死。」, an annotation to Sunzi's original paragraph 「不知三军之权，而同三军之任，则军士疑矣。」]

Personnel: "Hard though it is to know people, there are ways. First is to question them concerning right and wrong, to observe their ideas. Second is to exhaust all their arguments, to see how they change. Third is to consult with them about strategy, to see how perceptive they are. Fourth is to announce that there is trouble, to see how brave they are. Fifth is to get them drunk, to observe their nature. Sixth is to present them with the prospect of gain, to see how modest they are. Seventh is to give them a task to do within a specific time, to see how trustworthy they are."

— Zhuge Liang

[cf. 诸葛亮《将苑》：夫知人之性，莫难察焉。美恶既殊，情貌不一。有温良而为诈者，有外恭而内欺者，有外勇而内怯者，有尽力而不忠者。 然知人之道有七焉： 一曰，间之以是非，而观其志； 二曰，穷之以辞辩，而观其变； 三曰，咨之以计谋，而观其识； 四曰，告之以祸难，而观其勇； 五曰，醉之以酒，而观其性； 六曰，临之以利，而观其廉； 七曰，其之以事，而观其信。]”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Foreign affairs, annoyance of: Foreign affairs often strike governments, especially those of large nations, as an annoyance which is to be evaded rather than addressed, but such annoyances are unavoidable and must, in the end, be addressed.

Foreign affairs, temptation of: "Each ruler says, 'By attending to foreign affairs I can perhaps become a king, and if not I will at least ensure security for myself'. ... Neither power or order, however, can be sought abroad — they are wholly a matter of internal government. ... If the ruler does not apply the proper laws and procedures within his state, but stakes all on the wisdom of his foreign policy, his state will never become powerful and well ordered."

— Han Feizi, as translated by Burton Watson

[皆曰“外事大可以王，小可以安。”[...]治强不可责于外，内政之有也。今不行法术于内，而事智于外，则不至于治强矣。——《韩非子·五蠹》]”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Risks: "No course is ever completely free form hazard; but the greatest of all risks is when risk is shirked."

— Victor Wellesley, 1944

Rudeness, utility of: It can pay to be rude. Anger your opponents in a negotiation and you confuse and distract them. In their rage, they may be goaded to reveal objectives they had been concealing from you.

[cf. Anger]”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“War, delight in: "To delight in war is a merit in the soldier, a dangerous quality in the captain, and a positive crime in the statesman."

— George Santayana, 1906

War, economics of: "The object of those who make war, either from choice or ambition, is to conquer and to maintain their conquests, and to do this in such a manner as to enrich themselves and not to impoverish the conquered country. To do this, then, the conqueror should take care not to spend too much, and in all things mainly to look to the public benefit."

— Niccolò Machiavelli

War, guerrilla: "The guerrilla wins if he does not lose; the conventional army loses if it does not win."

— Henry A. Kissinger, 1969

War, justification for: War may rightly be undertaken to diminish the strength of a power whose growth implies a future danger to its neighbors.”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary

“Advocacy, policy: "Most people do not mind being surpassed in good fortune, character, or temperament, but no one, especially not a sovereign, likes to be surpassed in intelligence. For this is the king of attributes, and any crime against it is lèse-majesté. Sovereigns want to be so in what is most important. Princes like to be helped, but not surpassed. When you counsel someone, you should appear to be reminding him of something he had forgotten, not of the light he was unable to see. It is the stars who teach us this subtlety. They are brilliant sons, but they never dare to outshine the sun."

— Baltazar Gracián

Advocacy, policy: "Ideas do not sell themselves. Authors of memoranda who are not willing to fight for them are more likely to find their words turn into ex post facto alibis than guides to action."

— Henry A. Kissinger, 1994”
― Chas W. Freeman Jr., The Diplomat's Dictionary