Thought De Jour

"We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world--benefaction.... We should cease to talk about vague and unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better." - George Kennan head of U.S. State Department Policy Planning Staff, 1948