“Covert action should not be confused with missionary work.”

“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 policymaking. 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 can do enormous damage to each other, not to speak of the room.”

“Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God”

“Don't be too ambitious. Do the most important thing you can think of doing every year and then your career will take care of itself.”

“There can't be a crisis next week, my schedule is already full.”

“Every victory is only the price of admission to a more difficult problem”

“Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There is too much fraternizing with the enemy.”