On these three principles, inclusiveness, multilateral institutions, and the use of force as a last resort, we can build a strong foreign policy. We can strengthen our ties with Europe and with nations around the world. And we can preserve peace.

Alex was killed in Vietnam in 1970. But he believed in serving his country. He stood for something.

As for me, the adage that Alex and I spoke of that night at Oxford rings truer than ever. One of life's greatest gifts, I've found, is the opportunity to fight for what's right. There is so much more to be done.
p. 415

Every war is unique. Just as in chess, where games begin similarly only to diverge in unpredictable ways, no particular military engagement is likely to be repeated exactly. Nevertheless, lessons must be drawn from past experiences. While no error in military history is more chronicled than armies preparing to refight the last war, only to discover they had failed to prepare for the next, the art is to identify the significant features and then to discover their causes. With this information, it may be possible to forecast how patters may evolve over time and what must be done to deter, prevent, or if necessary, win the next war.
p. 418

Political leaders will always be circumspect in risking their governments and NATO on a military operation. But in other ways, the success of Operation Allied Force does open the door for its repetition elsewhere. In the first instance, there is now historical precedent for the use of force to intervene for purposes of humanitarian relief. Further, Western publics have seen that such operations can succeed if properly executed.

Surely, the key lesson must be that nations and alliances should move early to deal with crises while they are still ambiguous and can be dealt with more easily, for delay raises both the costs and the risks. Early action is the objective to which statesmen and military leaders should aspire.
pp. 422-423

The challenge for NATO's member nations is to harmonize differing national interests and points of view, in order to use the expertise and influence of the Alliance early in a crisis, when NATO can be effective in deterring or preventing conflict, not later, when the only question is whether to fight.
p. 446

What I learned during my time in Europe was that the strongest force in the world is an idea whose time has come. In Europe, and in much of the rest of the world, freedom, human rights, international law, and the opportunity to 'be all you can be' are those ideas whose formulation and dissemination owe much to American example and leadership in the past.

Because we live and extol these values, the United States enjoys a solid ethical basis for its power, a supportive community of likeminded nations and international institutions, and a moral force that extends our influence. Preserving these ideas and projecting our values should therefore be ranked among the most important of American interests.
p. 461