In the face of this situation we would be better off to dis… - George F. Kennan

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In the face of this situation we would be better off to dispense now with a number of the concepts which have underlined our thinking with regard to the Far East. We should dispense with the aspiration to 'be liked' or to be regarded as the repository of a high-minded international altruism. We should stop putting ourselves in the position of being our brothers' keeper and refrain from offering moral and ideological advice. We should cease to talk about vague — and for the Far East — 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 hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.

George F. Kennan

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About George F. Kennan

George Frost Kennan (16 February 1904 – 17 March 2005) was an American diplomat and historian, who served as ambassador to the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. He was known best as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War on which he later reversed himself. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly histories of the relations between the USSR and the United States. He was also one of the group of foreign policy elders known as "The Wise Men".

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Native Name: George Frost Kennan

Alternative Names: George Kennan

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Jawaharlal Nehru Henry Kissinger Václav Havel Winston Churchill George Orwell

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The best thing we can do if we want the Russians to let us be Americans is to let the Russians be Russian.

In the face of this situation we would be better off to dispense now with a number of the concepts which have underlined our thinking with regard to … - George F. Kennan

About George F. Kennan

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