Condoleezza Rice

“When I talk to students - and I still think of myself more than anything as a kind of professor on leave - they say, 'Well, how do I get to do what you do?'... And I say, 'Well, you have to start out by being a failed piano major.' And my point to them is don't try to have a 10-year plan. Find the next thing that interests you and follow that.”

“You aren't going to be successful as a diplomat if you don't understand the strategic context in which you are actually negotiating. It is not deal making. It's not.”

“The day has to come when it's not a surprise that a woman has a powerful position.”

“What has always made our country special is that it doesn't matter where you come from; it matters where you're going. Our job is to make certain the pathways are open to both our boys and our girls.”

“Some governments choose to cooperate with the United States in intelligence, law enforcement, or military matters. The co-operation is a two-way street. We share intelligence that has helped protect European countries from attack, helping save European lives.”

“We needed to go back on the offense and offer clear leadership on Iraq.”

“We will have to stand up for and promote the power and promise of free markets and free peoples, and affirm that American preeminence safeguards rather than impedes global progress.”

“We can have a new vision, one even greater than the system they gave us after World War II. Everyone can pursue happiness and freedom and peace.”

“People have the right to protest - that's what democracy is all about. I have no problem with people exercising their democratic rights.”

“When you are going up the corporate ladder or the government ladder, you have to take some risk.”

“I wish someone had put a golf club in my hands, not skates on my feet. It is a really great game for business. It's a great game for making connections.”

“I don't think anybody can take the word of Saddam Hussein and his regime, and certainly an American president and allies who are obligated to worry about the safety and security of our countries, cannot take the word of this dictator, who lies, pathologically lies.”

“But the truth of the matter is, we're an open society, we want to remain an open society, and there will continue to be vulnerability. That's why we have to meet the threats when they are not yet taking place on our territory and on our soil.”

“I remember, when I was 6 years old, we were having an event at school where different dolls were on display. I said that the tallest doll needed to be on the end, and my little friend said to me, 'Oh, you're just so bossy.' I remember thinking that wasn't a good thing. But I kept insisting the doll had to be on the end anyway.”

“עמי המזרח התיכון מאוחדים בשאיפתם לחירות, ויש לנו הזדמנות והתחייבות לעזור להם להפוך זאת למציאות.”

“ההצלחה איננה מובטחת, אך מדובר בהזדמנות שלא הייתה כמותה מזה שנים רבות, ואמריקה נחושה בדעתה לעזור לישראלים ולפלסטינים להגיע לשלום בר קיימא.”

“נמשיך לשתף פעולה במלחמתנו נגד הטרוריזם.”

“אנו נמצאים בעולם חדש – עולם שבו הטרוריזם עושה שימוש באמצעים טכנולוגיים, ואם לא נפעל מיד נצטער מאוד על כך.”

“אנו נמצאים במצב מלחמה, ועלינו לנצח בה כדי להביא שלום וביטחון לאומתנו.”

“אין ספק כי אפגניסטן היא עדיין מקום מסוכן. אנו מנסים להבטיח את שלומו של הנשיא חמיד כרזאי, ואנו מחויבים להוכיח את תמיכתנו במשטרו.”