Condoleezza Rice quotes

Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist, diplomat, and professor. Known for serving as the first African-American woman Secretary of State, she played a key role in U.S. foreign policy during the George W. Bush administration. She continues to influence policy and education as an academic leader and public figure. Here are 175 of her quotes:

Punish France, ignore Germany, and forgive Russia.

Condoleezza Rice

People may oppose you, but when they realize you can hurt them, they'll join your side.

Condoleezza Rice

I think the word of the United States has been as good as gold in its international dealings and its agreements.

Condoleezza Rice

When are we going to stop making excuses for the terrorists and saying that somebody is making them do it? No, these are simply evil people who want to kill.

Condoleezza Rice

But I want to just caution, it is not incumbent on the United States to prove that Saddam Hussein is trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction. He's already demonstrated that he's trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

Condoleezza Rice

I don't think that anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon, that they would try to use an airplane as a missile.

Condoleezza Rice

It's bad policy to speculate on what you'll do if a plan fails, when you're trying to make a plan work.

Condoleezza Rice

Oh, indeed there is a tie between Iraq and what happened on 9/11. It's not that Saddam Hussein was somehow himself and his regime involved in 9/11, but, if you think about what caused 9/11, it is the rise of ideologies of hatred that lead people to drive airplanes into buildings in New York.

Condoleezza Rice

I don't know anyone who is more admired and respected in the international community than President Karzai, for his strength, for his wisdom and for his courage to lead this country, first in defeat of the Taliban and now a democratic and unified Afghanistan. And I can tell you I am with foreign ministers and with heads of state all over the world. I sit in the councils of NATO. I sit with the EU. I sit with people all over the world and there is great admiration for your president and also for what the Afghan people are doing here.

Condoleezza Rice

In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development.

Condoleezza Rice

As I was telling my husb - As I was telling President Bush.

Condoleezza Rice

Sometimes people decide to write reports even though they haven't been to Guantanamo. And so I would just suggest that people look at some of the work that's been done by people who have been there. But that's not to say that we will not be very glad at the day that conditions permit the closure of Guantanamo and the trying of its inhabitants or for their release.

Condoleezza Rice

The essence of America - that which really unites us - is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion - it is an idea - and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.

Condoleezza Rice

We're in a new world. We're in a world in which the possibility of terrorism, married up with technology, could make us very, very sorry that we didn't act.

Condoleezza Rice

We need a common enemy to unite us.

Condoleezza Rice

But the truth of the matter is, we're an open society, we want to remain an open society, and there will continue to be vulnerability. That's why we have to meet the threats when they are not yet taking place on our territory and on our soil.

Condoleezza Rice

The people of the Middle East share the desire for freedom. We have an opportunity - and an obligation - to help them turn this desire into reality.

Condoleezza Rice

My Fox guys, I love every single one of them.

Condoleezza Rice

And we believe that our policies toward Iraq simply are to protect the region and to protect Iraq's people and neighbors.

Condoleezza Rice

We have had some bad incidents and there continue to be allegations of others which will be investigated; but overwhelmingly American forces there, putting their lives on the line every day, protecting Iraqis, helping to liberate them, that is appreciated by the Iraqi people and by the Prime Minister.

Condoleezza Rice

In light of 50 years of bondage of Eastern Europe, [invading the Soviet Union in 1948 to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons] was probably a reasonable thing to do.

Condoleezza Rice

I have no doubt that as the Iraqi security forces get better, and they are getting better and they are holding territory and they are doing these things with minimal help, that we are going to be able to bring down the levels of our forces. And I have no doubt that that's going to happen in a reasonable time frame.

Condoleezza Rice