Madeleine Albright

Our rivals will not soon let the world forget the spectacle of American democracy under siege from within.

America must set the right example.

Backing for democratic values must be the centerpiece of any strategy to create a more secure, stable, healthy and prosperous global environment.

They are an adversary, there is no question, militarily in terms of the kinds of things that they are doing in the South and East China Sea and threatening Taiwan.

Elections are necessary, but not sufficient.

A little more than a century ago, a U.S. President asked our armed forces to cross the ocean to make the world safe for democracy.

The United States must lead.

Today, we must support democracy to make the world safe, and we should do so with confidence.

We need to make clear that we need to be back, and really do need to make clear in so many ways that we are a leader in restoring and building democracy in other countries.

The time is right to revive that sense of solidarity.

I have always been a grateful American, and I was taught by my father to appreciate both the fragility of democracy and its resilience.

But in the vast majority of cases, support for democracy serves both our interests and our ideals.