But there will be many more occasions when relations between and among nations are more complex, more nuanced, with good and bad motives attributed to all sides. On these more frequent occasions, we must not fear to negotiate, to talk over our differences, to try to resolve them short of armed conflict. A willingness to negotiate requires real strength, it requires real confidence, but it often holds out the best chance to achieve the desired change. Love your enemy, the Bible tells us. The failure to negotiate has become a lifetime ticket to power for these individuals.
Peace is more difficult than war .
This is the harder job. But the goal is worth it. A commitment to human rights requires that we always keep a mirror close at hand, so that we might judge ourselves by the same high standards we demand of others. Yes, I want to take a look at that mirror and see what others might see. And so I stand before you today gladdened by the words of so many world leaders in the course of the past week.