If the president of the United States says that attacks on civilians, starvation, and denial of religious freedom in Sudan are important international issues, they become so. – Elliott Abrams
Being an Arab leader has its rewards: the suite at the Waldorf-Astoria during the United Nations General Assembly, travel in your own plane, plenty of cash, even job security – whether kings, sheiks or presidents, with or without elections, most serve for life. – Elliott Abrams
The Obama administration has been trying out a new policy toward Syria since the day it came to office. The Bush cold shoulder was viewed as a primitive reaction, now to be replaced by sophisticated diplomacy. Outreach would substitute for isolation. – Elliott Abrams
Scandinavia is boring. People living there apparently have little to do. And as European history teaches, when there is nothing much to do, you may as well amuse yourself by attacking the Jews. – Elliott Abrams
The accession to power in Pyongyang of Kim Jong Un, son of Kim Jong Il and grandson of Kim Il Sung, is a unique achievement in world politics. – Elliott Abrams
The ultimate goal is to change Syria’s behaviour on a variety of issues – on its interference in Lebanese internal affairs, on its support for Palestinian terrorist groups that oppose the Palestinian Authority, on, most importantly, acting as a land bridge between Iran and Hezbollah, where Hezbollah gets all its arms. – Elliott Abrams
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
The United States treated Gaddafi as an enemy due to his support for terrorism against us, until a rapprochement of sorts began under Pres. George W. Bush at the very end of 2003. – Elliott Abrams
Moammar Gaddafi, who has called himself the ‘Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,’ should go down in history with the Emperor Bokassa and Idi Amin as a grotesque reminder of why people have the right to change their government. – Elliott Abrams
At Camp David in 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat 94 percent of the West Bank; ten years later, Ehud Olmert offered Abbas 93.6 percent with a one-to-one land swap. – Elliott Abrams
Turkey’s solidarity with Hamas is not, of course, based on Arab nationalism, which as a non-Arab nation it does not support. It is instead based on a definition of the Mideast conflict as one between Jews and Muslims, precisely the position of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. – Elliott Abrams
We use American influence with Israel not to promote economic growth in the West Bank, but to try and impede Jewish – never Arab – construction in the capital city. – Elliott Abrams
If you said to people you can cast a secret ballot on whether to turn back the clock and have Morsi in power again, I don’t think very many people in Washington would turn back that clock. – Elliott Abrams
The Egyptian military and the government of Israel have long had a common interest in maintaining order and fighting terrorism in Sinai. – Elliott Abrams
The truce brokered by Egypt between Israel and Hamas depends, above all, on the borders between Egypt, Gaza and Israel. – Elliott Abrams
I just don’t understand how Kerry or Obama or anybody else thought Assad was going to change. – Elliott Abrams
The good Jew is ritually observant and resists assimilation, in some sense living apart, never fitting comfortably into American or any other society. – Elliott Abrams
Bahai Iranians are barred from holding government jobs, their children are excluded from the nation’s university system, their marriages are not recognized and their cemeteries and holy places have been desecrated. It is government policy to incite hatred of Bahais in the official media. – Elliott Abrams
Terrorism exploded after the Camp David talks broke down in 2000 because the Palestinians’ leader at the time, Yasser Arafat, supported it. – Elliott Abrams
President Bush met repeatedly with human rights activists and freedom fighters from all over the world to give them encouragement and protection and to advance their cause. – Elliott Abrams
The Sandinistas are dedicated Communists, and if they are going to make a compromise with democracy, it’s going to be under pressure. – Elliott Abrams
There’s always Tunisia. Amid the smoking ruins of the Middle East, there is that one encouraging success story. – Elliott Abrams
What does ‘politicizing intelligence’ mean? Using intel, or more often, partial intel, to produce an effect in line with White House policies rather than giving a full picture of a particular situation. – Elliott Abrams
The Erdogan government’s first major step outside of the U.S. alliance was during the Bush Administration, when it wouldn’t let Washington use Turkey as a launching ground for U.S. troops entering Iraq in 2003. – 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. – Elliott Abrams
While Israelis do not care too much about Europeans moral judgments, the E.U. is an important market for them, and European sanctions of any kind would be harmful to Israel. – Elliott Abrams