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For nearly twenty years, Bismarck preserved the peace and eased international tension with his moderation and flexibility. But he paid the price of misunderstood greatness, for his successors and would-be imitators could draw no better lesson from his example than multiplying arms and waging a war which would cause the suicide of European civilization.

— Henry Kissinger Diplomacy (1994)

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More quotes by Henry Kissinger

The accumulation of nuclear arms has to be constrained if mankind is not to destroy itself.

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

The End of the Road (1982)

Covert action should not be confused with missionary work.

Of course, over time, even two armed blind men can do enormous damage to each other, not to speak of the room.

The security of Israel is a moral imperative for all free peoples.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Henry Kissinger (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.