Quotes by Elliott Abrams

First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

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

Freedom

Elections matter, but how much they matter depends entirely on how free, open and fair they are.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

Thousands of members of Congress have come and gone over the years, their individual achievements hidden in committee reports, private compromises, amendments pushed through or blocked, and innumerable, unnoticed meetings.

— Elliott Abrams

Success

The intersection of religion and world politics has often been a bloody crossroads.

— Elliott Abrams

Life

After 9/11, we did see Palestinian terrorism in the context of all terrorism.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

Libya as a country is a relatively new concept. The period of Libya as a modern nation really starts after World War II.

— Elliott Abrams

Life

Now in its third year in office, the Obama Administration has never championed the cause of human rights. Its slow reaction in June 2009 to the stealing of the election in Iran and the birth of the 'Green Movement' there, and its delay in backing the rebellions in Egypt, Libya, and Syria, are evidence of this problem.

— Elliott Abrams

Life

Sometimes the results of a first free election will find the moderates so poorly organized that extreme groups can eke out a victory, as Hamas did when it gained a 44-to-41 percent margin in the Palestinian election of 2006.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

At the height of the Cold War, when Ronald Reagan was president, the Soviets and their allies and satellites did not shirk human rights debates with the West. They had their arguments ready.

— Elliott Abrams

Life

During the election campaign of 2000, it was generally thought that then-governor Bush didn't know much about foreign policy or national security affairs, and that Colin Powell would lead on that front, while the president's main concern would be domestic.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

Harry Truman, who was a Bible-believing Christian Zionist, defied the secretary of state he so admired, George C. Marshall, and won a place in Israel's history by recognizing the new state 11 minutes after it declared its independence in 1948.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

In critical ways, Obama has reversed not just Bush policy but every president's approach to the world since the Second World War, save for that of his soulmate Jimmy Carter.

— Elliott Abrams

Life

Obama's foreign policy is strangely self-centered, focused on himself and the United States rather than on the conduct and needs of the nations the United States allies with, engages with, or must confront.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

Opponents of U.S. sanctions have made 'unilateral sanctions' their special target. They argue that sanctions observed by many nations would be much more effective. True enough. Far better for trade with an outlaw regime to be restricted by many nations than by just one.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

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.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

The war on drugs is not being won, and it continues to threaten stability and democracy not only in the Andes but throughout the Caribbean as well, where tiny police and military forces are outclassed by the sophisticated equipment in the hands of traffickers passing through the region on the way to their market in this country.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

When a deeply sympathetic American president asks for concessions and compromises and appears able to cajole some from the Palestinians, which was the Clinton/Rabin and Bush/Sharon combination, Israel must respond.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

We need to understand that an open society and free speech and press... really are the best weapons against al Qaeda and extremism.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

There isn't any way for the people of Nicaragua to find out what's going on in Nicaragua.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

The mishandling of the would-be airplane bomber Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab's visa is only the latest piece of evidence that the granting of visas should be taken away from the State Department. For the granting of visas - especially today, when terrorism is such a complex threat - is far closer to being a law-enforcement function.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

At the United Nations, a lynch mob for Israel is always just a moment away.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

Does anyone believe that Kofi Annan scares Bashar Assad?

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom

Dubai must crack down on rampant smuggling, and the U.A.E. federal government has significantly stepped up pressure.

— Elliott Abrams

Wisdom