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

Jim Stavridis is the former NATO commander who is sometimes on people's lists, also very plausible, self-possessed, someone with sobriety. — David Brooks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How many people would like to be good, if only they might be good without taking trouble about it! They do not like goodness well enough to hunger and thirst after it, or to sell all that they have that they may buy it; they will not batter at the gate of the kingdom of heaven; but they look with pleasure on this or that aerial castle of righteousness, and think it would be rather nice to live in it. — George MacDonald

Everyone has a bizarre childhood and unusual life experiences, whether they know it or not. There's no such thing as a normal childhood. What's useful in writing weird fiction is learning how to understand and articulate those moments of personal, particular strangeness. — Kelly Link

Italians allow anything in their cooking. — Jose Andres

had always been like that - incapable of withholding the truth but incapable of cruelty. A rare kind of person. The best kind of friend. — Renee Ahdieh

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

They wanted to hear about the sex, of course. But not the rest; no one wanted to hear the rest. — Christine Keeler

She rose on her tiptoes and brushed a slow kiss to his lips. "This doesn't have to be a relationship, okay? Just let me be your muse."
He bent to taste her again and smiled. "And I'll be your Guardian. — Lisa Kessler

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

It is by speech that many of our best gains are made. A large part of the good we receive comes to us in conversation. — Washington Gladden

Many people have been positive influences in my life. My parents, whom I mentioned, were the most important, but many of my teachers were also a big help to me. — Samuel Alito

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

The secret to happiness is elusive because it is a paradoxical truth. To gain happiness, you must first cease pursuing it. Things perceived to provide happiness are like shiny, pretty bubbles that lure us this way and that way, chasing after their glossy buoyancy. But once they are handled, they "pop" - empty - vanishing along with the hope that happiness could ever be captured. Happiness cannot be caught or won or purchased or even handled. Happiness simply forms like a rainbow in the kindest and most grateful hearts. — Richelle E. Goodrich

Your strength is given to you from God, Amanda," she had said. "He will not lead you anywhere that you should not be. — Sarah Price

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