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More often than not, Americans and Westerners overestimated the power and capability of the Soviet Union.

Alexander Haig

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Alexander Haig
Age: 85 †
Born: 1924
Born: December 2
Died: 2010
Died: February 20
Businessperson
Diplomat
Former United States Secretary Of State
Military Personnel
Politician
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
Alexander Meigs Haig
Jr.
Alexander Meigs Al Haig Jr.
Unions
Americans
Often
Power
Overestimated
Westerners
Capability
Soviet
Union

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Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the president, the vice president and the secretary of state, in that order, and should the president decide he wants to transfer the helm to the vice president, he will do so. As for now, I'm in control here, in the White House.
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That's not a lie, it's a terminological inexactitude.
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I am in control here, in the White House.
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Let them march all they want, as long as they continue to pay their taxes.
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Israel is the largest American aircraft carrier in the world that cannot be sunk, does not carry even one American soldier, and is located in a critical region for American national security.
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There are contingency plans in the NATO doctrine to fire a nuclear weapon for demonstrative purposes, to demonstrate to the other side that they are exceeding the limits of toleration in the conventional area.
Alexander Haig
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To declare the Cold War over, and declare democracy has won out over totalitarianism, is a measure of arrogance and wrong-headedness.
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A durable, long-term U.S.-China strategic relationship is even more important now than in previous decades. The relationship will continue to grow and prosper to the mutual benefit of all peoples.
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You have to look at the history of the Middle East in particular. It has been one of failure and frustration, of feudalism and tribalism.
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In Desert Storm, we had too many troops in Afghanistan probably not enough for the major commitment we have made.
Alexander Haig
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Practice rather than preach. Make of your life an affirmation, defined by your ideals, not the negation of others. Dare to the level of your capability then go beyond to a higher level.
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I'm the only American alive or dead who presided unhappily over the removal of a vice president and a president.
Alexander Haig
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I probably carry more scar tissue on my derrière than any other candidate-that's political scar tissue.
Alexander Haig
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Syria is a terrorist state by any definition and is so classified by the State Department. I happen to think Iran is too. Iraq, Iran, Syria, they're all involved.
Alexander Haig
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Sooner or later something had to give. But President Bush, faced with the unprecedented affront of 9-11, could not wait to take action. So he had to do what we were capable of doing, and he did it brilliantly.
Alexander Haig
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The world awaits Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Olympics, an occasion which will bring into the global spotlight the dramatic advances China is making in enhancing the quality of life for its people.
Alexander Haig
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As I look back at the span of the Cold War in those early days, in the '50s, for example, there was a great deal of Soviet propaganda here in the United States, but it was clumsy, and it was anchored to a lot of ideological support in certain circles in America itself.
Alexander Haig
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We didn't do anything wrong, but among the lessons learned, given the magnitude of the problems we now face in Afghanistan, a major U.S. force on the ground would convince the world we were in for the long-haul recovery of a country devastated by 21 years of warfare.
Alexander Haig
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I think the new generations in America, the America's youth, no longer care about Vietnam. They don't want to hear any more about it.
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Then came the hostage crisis during which Carter did nothing to rattle the ayatollahs who hung tough until Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, when they suddenly backed down.
Alexander Haig