Elliott Abrams quotes

In Iran, there is no freedom of the press, no freedom of speech, no independent judiciary, no free elections. There is no freedom of religion - not even for Shiites, who are forced by Iran's theocracy to adhere to one narrow set of official rules. (Elliott Abrams)
The ransoming of captives has been practiced by Jews for many centuries and has been regarded as a greater obligation than charity for the poor. View quote
Elliott Abrams
Elections matter, but how much they matter depends entirely on how free, open and fair they are. View quote
Elliott Abrams
America was not founded to improve health care or housing; it was founded for freedom. View quote
Elliott Abrams
First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes. View quote
Elliott Abrams
While all Alawites fear vengeance against their entire community should Assad fall, there are varying degrees of loyalty to the Assads. View quote
Elliott Abrams
I never said I had no idea about most of the things you said I said I had no idea about. View quote
Elliott Abrams
The way for the Palestinians to get a state is to go ahead and build it. View quote
Elliott Abrams
At the United Nations, a lynch mob for Israel is always just a moment away. View quote
Elliott Abrams
While Argentina, Brazil, and Chile - what in textbooks used to be called the ABC countries - seem settled into democratic politics and free market economics, the Andean countries are in disarray. View quote
Elliott Abrams
Pundits are used to analyzing the gap between what our ideals suggest and what our security interests require. (Elliott Abrams)
The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that just as repeatedly merit and receive punishment. View quote
Elliott Abrams
I want to be the first guy to reverse a communist revolution. View quote
Elliott Abrams
It seems clear to me that the Obama Administration has no human rights policy. That is, while in some inchoate sense they would like respect for human rights to grow around the world, as all Americans would, they have no actual policy to achieve that goal - and they subordinate it to all their other policy goals. View quote
Elliott Abrams
There are no Muslim ghettos in the U.S. View quote
Elliott Abrams
There are examples of fraternal dictatorships, or one, anyway: the passing of power from Fidel to Raul Castro. View quote
Elliott Abrams
The intersection of religion and world politics has often been a bloody crossroads. View quote
Elliott Abrams
Libya as a country is a relatively new concept. The period of Libya as a modern nation really starts after World War II. View quote
Elliott Abrams
Dubai must crack down on rampant smuggling, and the U.A.E. federal government has significantly stepped up pressure. View quote
Elliott Abrams
When you work in the White House you talk to the White House staff all day, so you're talking to the guy who handles the congressional liaison and the guy who's handling domestic politics and the guy who's handling the American economy and so forth. View quote
Elliott Abrams
I grew up in Queens, in New York City, in a middle class Jewish family. My mother was a public school teacher, my father was a lawyer. They were Democrats - kind of middle-of-the-road democrats. (Elliott Abrams)
A great nation like the United States has many and varied interests, and we need both to do business with tyrants and to engage constantly in multilateral diplomacy. View quote
Elliott Abrams
On taking office in 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama put Israeli settlements at the center of U.S. policy in the Middle East. View quote
Elliott Abrams
After 9/11, we did see Palestinian terrorism in the context of all terrorism. View quote
Elliott Abrams
Mass killing has very clearly not been eliminated, nor has the 'international community' developed a response that will avert it or bring it to a quick end. View quote
Elliott Abrams