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Some people approach every problem with an open mouth.

I'm not always the most diplomatic person.

It's a necessary quality of a diplomat or a politician that he will compromise. Uncompromising politicians or diplomats get you into the most terrible trouble.

It is fortunate that diplomats have long noses since they usually cannot see beyond them.

Diplomacy is fundamentally working with people, bringing people together to deal with difficult issues.

And so there has been a lot of diplomatic movement.

As a journalist, I try to avoid talking to American diplomats, because I am stunned again and again by just how little grasp they have of what people are really feeling in a country. Especially CIA guys. Maybe they're just really good at playing stupid, but I don't think so.

Quiet diplomacy is far more effective than public posturing.

Well, the thing that I learned as a diplomat is that human relations ultimately make a huge difference.