James Stavridis Quotes & Sayings

None of the threats to the global commons will be solved by building walls. — James G. Stavridis

You can't kill your way to success in a counter insurgency effort. You have to protect the people, get the civil military balance right, train the locals, and practice effective strategic communications. — James G. Stavridis

Life is not an on and off switch. You don't have to have a military that is either in hard combat or is in the barracks. — James G. Stavridis

We seem to have lost our capacity for politeness and for genuine concern about the quality of our interactions in this hectic century. — James G. Stavridis

When I write a song, it's all about the riff - the riff first, then the words come later. — Evan Dando

With attention deficit democracy, I am trying to wake up people to how the combination of mass ignorance, fear mongering by the government, and lying politicians is putting our entire system of government to a death spiral. — James Bovard

It's probably worth noting that although I'm ethnically Greek, my grandfather was actually born in Turkey and came through Greece on his way to the United States. — James G. Stavridis

I would not be surprised to see Syria break apart entirely. — James G. Stavridis

What's the third largest nation in the world after China and India? It's the Facebook nation - 430 million people on Facebook. — James G. Stavridis

People cain't help being what they are any more than a skunk can help being a skunk. Don't you think if they had their choice they would rather be something else? Sure they would. People are just weak. — Fannie Flagg

In any insurgency there will be people who are irreconcilable and who pose a clear and present threat to the U.S. and our allies. — James G. Stavridis

You can't live on planet rock star 24/7; you have to be down and dirty and have some fun. — Billie Joe Armstrong

When I get up, the first thing I do is open up Gmail and check my personal email. — James G. Stavridis

One never meets just Cancer, or War, or Unhappiness (or Happiness). One only meets each hour or moment that comes. All manner of ups and downs. Many bad spots in our best times, many good ones in our worst. One never gets the total impact of what we call 'the thing itself'. But we call it wrongly. The thing itself is simply all these ups and downs: the rest is a name or an idea. — C.S. Lewis

Wikipedia, every day, is tens of thousands of people inputting information, and every day millions of people withdrawing that information. It's a perfect image for the fundamental point that no one of us is as smart as all of us thinking together. — James G. Stavridis

Hobgoblins know the proper way to dance: Arms akimbo, loopy legs askew, Leaping into darkness with delight, Lusting for the ecstasy of fright, Open to the charm of horrors new. — Nick Gordon

Eighty-five percent cannot read when they enter the security forces of Afghanistan. Why? Because the Taliban withheld education during the period of time in which these men and women would have learned to read. — James G. Stavridis

I am a huge consumer of social networks, and I utilize Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I'm interested and am learning more about Tumblr and other visually dominant sites. — James G. Stavridis

Thinklogical's systems play a key role in the delivery and visualization of mission critical data used every day by military and intelligence communities worldwide. — James G. Stavridis

Creativity is Inspiration having fun — Albert Einstein

The Department of Defense, the largest single energy consumer in America, is bullish on solar. — Bernie Sanders

Walls don't work ... Instead of building walls to create security, we need to build bridges. — James G. Stavridis

I tend to gravitate toward reporters who cover all aspects of the story: from personal aspects to the big picture that answer the 'so what' of a story. — James G. Stavridis

I am the son of a freedom fighter, and a son of a freedom fighter automatically imbibes the value of democracy. — Narendra Modi

Some have called Afghanistan 'the graveyard of empires,' and it probably is the graveyard of empires. — James G. Stavridis

In the 21st century, we can't create security by building walls. — James G. Stavridis

I knew that if I did not start chanting with people, that I would never be able to clean out the dark corners of my own heart. I knew it with every cell in my body and mind. — Krishna Das

If man's capacity for the fantastic took up as much of his imagination as his capacity for cruelty, the worlds, seen and unseen, might be very different. — G. Willow Wilson

I've never been in a 'Twitter fight,' though I've witnessed my fair share. I do enjoy vigorous and informed debate, but the benefit is lost when the exchange becomes a series of petty ad hominem attacks. I don't see much value in it. — James G. Stavridis

I think there is a good deal of promise in those discussions as well. I think there is a range of matters that might be discussed between NATO and Russia that can provide a mechanism for talking through these issues, a way to give reassurance on these issues. — Warren Christopher

The prostitute journalist is a familiar and well-understood figure in the Middle East, and Saddam Hussein's regime made lavish use of the buyability of the regional press. Now we, too, have hired that clapped-out old floozy, Miss Rosie Scenario, and sent her whoring through the streets. — Christopher Hitchens

I don't think anyone would look at Colombia today and say that it is failing. This positive outcome is an example of the effective application of smart power - it is succeeding. — James G. Stavridis