“I have been struck by the pervasive frequency of pompously patriotic ads for the defense industry, usually accompanied by deferential salutations to our men and women who are heroically sacrificing their lives in our defense. Do we really need all of that for our security?”

Polish-American diplomat and political scientist

Zbigniew Brzeziński was a Polish-American diplomat and political scientist. He is known for his role in U.S. foreign policy and for his work as a scholar of international relations. He served as a counselor to Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1968 and was Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981. His scholarship belonged to the realist school, shaped by the geopolitical thinking of Halford Mackinder and Nicholas J. Spykman, though his outlook also showed elements of liberal idealism. He was the main organizer of the Trilateral Commission.