“The function of a briefing paper is to prevent the ambassador from saying something dreadfully indiscreet. I sometimes think its true object is to prevent the ambassador from saying anything at all.”

—  Kingman Brewster, Jr.

Address in Edinburgh, Scotland (8 September 1977)

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 "The function of a briefing paper is to prevent the ambassador from saying something dreadfully indiscreet. I sometimes …" by Kingman Brewster, Jr.?
Kingman Brewster, Jr. photo
Kingman Brewster, Jr. 16
American diplomat 1919–1988

Related quotes

Colin Wilson photo

“No matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity.”

Colin Wilson (1931–2013) author

Source: Mysteries (1978), p. 125
Context: No matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity. Expressed in a sentence, Fort's principle goes something like this: People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to believe in marvels.

Richard Dawkins photo

“What's to prevent us from saying Hitler wasn't right? I mean, that is a genuinely difficult question.”

Richard Dawkins (1941) English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author

"Richard Dawkins, the Atheist Evangelist", by Larry Taunton, byFaith (18 December 2007) http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-world/richard-dawkins-the-atheist-evangelist

Frithjof Schuon photo

“To love God does not mean to cultivate a sentiment − that is to say, something we enjoy without knowing whether God enjoys it − but to eliminate from the soul what prevents God from entering it.”

Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) Swiss philosopher

[2005, Stations of Wisdom, World Wisdom, 93, 978-0-94153218-1]
God, Reverential fear and love

Megan Whalen Turner photo

“Discretion prevented me from saying that I thought she was a fiend from the underworld and that mountain lions couldn't force me to enter her service.”

Megan Whalen Turner The Thief

Source: The Thief

Nasreddin photo

“"I can see in the dark."
"That may be so, Mulla. But if it is true, why do you sometimes carry a candle at night?"
"To prevent other people from bumping into me."”

Nasreddin (1208–1284) philosopher, Sufi and wise man from Turkey, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes

N. Hanif (ed.), Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East (2002), , p. 343

Wilhelm Reich photo

“Work democracy does not wish to prevent or prohibit anything. Its only intention is the fulfilment of the biological life functions, of love, work and knowledge.”

Wilhelm Reich book The Mass Psychology of Fascism

Section 3 : Work Democracy versus Politics. The Natural Social Forces for the Mastery of the Emotional Plague.
The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1933), Ch. 10 : Work Democracy

Horace Mann photo

“The object of punishment is, prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good.”

Horace Mann (1796–1859) American politician

Lecture 7
Lectures on Education (1855)

W.B. Yeats photo

“The official designs of the Government, especially its designs in connection with postage stamps and coinage, may be described, I think, as the silent ambassadors of national taste.”

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) Irish poet and playwright

Speech (3 March 1926), Seanad Éireann (Irish Free Senate), on the Coinage Bill. http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0006/S.0006.192603030003.html

Milton Friedman photo

“I say thank God for government waste. If government is doing bad things, it's only the waste that prevents the harm from being greater.”

Milton Friedman (1912–2006) American economist, statistician, and writer

Interview with Richard Heffner on The Open Mind (7 December 1975)

Hillary Clinton photo

“I was the boss of ambassadors in 270 countries.”

Hillary Clinton (1947) American politician, senator, Secretary of State, First Lady

"Benghazi chair struggles to explain gains from marathon session" http://www.cbsnews.com/news/benghazi-hearing-hillary-clinton-chairman-struggles-to-explain-gains-from-session/, CBS News (23 October 2015)
Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016)

Related topics