Dennis Ross

“Leverage is the ability to make the other side feel pain and to offer a way to end it.”

“The currency of diplomacy is credibility.”

“The art of diplomacy is to build a bridge where there is none.”

“You don't make peace with your friends, you make it with your enemies.”

“The purpose of sanctions is to change behavior, not to punish for the sake of punishment.”

“Negotiations are a euphemism for capitulation if the shadow of power is not cast across the bargaining table.”

“You can't make peace without your partners, but you can't let your partners veto peace.”

“Sometimes, the only way to get a good deal is to walk away from a bad one.”

“In the Middle East, you can't be a pessimist, because if you are, you'll never get anything done. But you also can't be a Pollyanna. You have to be a realist.”

“The absence of a process is an invitation to violence.”

“Patience is a virtue, but in diplomacy, it's a necessity.”

“Ambiguity can be a friend in diplomacy, but it can also be a source of misunderstanding.”

“Hope is not a strategy. It's a feeling. And feelings don't produce outcomes.”

“Perception is reality in the Middle East.”

“If you don't have a strategy, you will be part of someone else's strategy.”

“You have to create a sense of inevitability about the outcome you want.”

“There is no substitute for American leadership.”

“We have to be clear about our red lines and the consequences of crossing them.”