“You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done.”

—  Kofi Annan

Press conference http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1309/is_1_35/ai_54259243 regarding the use of force to gain compliance from Saddam Hussein (24 February 1998)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done." by Kofi Annan?
Kofi Annan photo
Kofi Annan 60
7th Secretary-General of the United Nations 1938–2018

Related quotes

Donald Rumsfeld photo

“I shouldn't get into … this is diplomacy, and I don't do diplomacy.”

Donald Rumsfeld (1932) U.S. Secretary of Defense

http://www.guardian.co.uk/quiz/questions/0,,1943315,00.html
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0304/30/se.01.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/bh/rumsfeld.shtml
2000s

Bill Cosby photo

“The only thing that you can get into without a lot of trouble is a lot of trouble.”

Bill Cosby (1937) American actor, comedian, author, producer, musician, activist

id.

Will Rogers photo

“Diplomacy is the same as saying "nice doggie" until you have a chance to pick up a rock.”

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist and entertainer

Attributed to Francis Rodman, in volume 64 of The Reader's digest (1954)
Other variants also attributed to Wynn Catlin in Kiss Me Hardy : Quotations Ancient and (Very) Modern (1982) by Roger Kilroy; and to Winston Churchill by Dick Applegate in a speech reprinted in Volume 75 of "The Carpenter" (1955)
Misattributed

Vladimir Putin photo

“You can do a lot more with weapons and politeness than just politeness.”

Vladimir Putin (1952) President of Russia, former Prime Minister

"Putin’s War of Words" https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/world/europe/vladimir-putin-war-of-words.html, New York Times, 5 December 2022
2010s, 2014

Charles Stross photo

“Lawyers do not mix with diplomacy.”

Source: Accelerando (2005), Chapter 5 (“Router”), p. 188

Stephen King photo

“People with a high tolerance for boredom can get a lot of thinking done.”

Stephen King (1947) American author

Source: Bag of Bones/the Green Mile/the Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Tony Abbott photo

“I don't really do diplomacy”

Tony Abbott (1957) Australian politician

'I don't really do diplomacy': Tony Abbott unsure of his next move https://www.theage.com.au/federal-election-2019/i-don-t-really-do-diplomacy-tony-abbott-unsure-of-his-next-move-20190531-p51tbe.html; Sydney Morning Herald, June 2, 2019
Post-Parliament (2019-)

Joycelyn Elders photo

“How do you get rid of the trash? It's out there in society, it's going on every day […] You can educate children an awful lot easier than you can get rid of the trash.”

Joycelyn Elders (1933) American pediatrician, public health administrator, and former Surgeon General of the United States

Source: [Bob, Sipchen, http://www.aegis.com/news/lt/1997/LT970701.html, Straight Talk From a Straight Shooter Journeys: Joycelyn Elders was known for her outspokenness during her run, Los Angeles Times, E-1, July 3, 1997, 2007-05-20]

Related topics