Ben Rhodes

President Obama has been on the world stage for 10 years, and people know what he believes. He doesn't single out individual countries and doesn't say, 'I believe in LGBT rights because I want to embarrass the political leadership in India.' ”

In the course of a presidency, a U.S. president says millions of words in public. You never know which of them end up cementing a certain impression. ”

The complete lack of governance in huge swaths of the Middle East - that is the project of the American establishment. ”

Jose Marti, known as 'the Apostle of Cuban Independence,' was an influential poet, journalist, and political theorist who became a symbol for the Cuban people's bid for independence. The concepts of freedom, liberty, and self-determination feature prominently in his work. ”

Make America great again,' is not that different from Putin's nostalgia for the Soviet Union or tsarist Russia. ”

What I do miss is foreign travel, because there really is no substitute for showing up somewhere and representing the United States. ”

What people admire about Prime Minister Modi is that he is an ambitious leader who is trying to elevate India economically, and enlisting all Indians in that project will make it more successful. ”

I profoundly do not believe that the United States could make things better in Syria by being there. And we have an evidentiary record of what happens when we're there - nearly a decade in Iraq. ”

Americans will forever be proud of the brave men and women of our armed forces who served in World War II, and we will never forget those who paid the last full measure of devotion for our country. Their service protected our freedom and changed the course of history around the world. ”

A critical part of our relationship with Laos involves addressing the legacy of war. ”