“A successful foreign policy for a global power such as the US cannot choose values over interests. A pure, values-centred approach to Saudi Arabia—or towards China, Russia, Iran or North Korea, for that matter—is unsustainable. The principal measure of a foreign policy is that it prioritises the country’s security over its preferences. Realism must prevail over idealism. History suggests that the ability of a country, even one as powerful as the US, to bring about political reform in other countries is limited.”

Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. [The Strategist]