He urged Germany to be more assertive in pursuit of its national interests, "like England and France".
Mitt Romney gave a big foreign policy speech last week, waxing eloquent about how he would be more assertive of U.S. interests abroad than President Obama and ensure that this is an "American century".
In a scant 17 months, Mr. Holbrooke has made himself an unapologetically assertive proponent of American interests at the United Nations, pulling off some feats that many diplomats believed were doomed to fail.
It was a fundamentally more assertive policy primarily in the interests of the United States.
The more that China views Trump family businesses as beholden to Chinese interests, the more assertive the country may be at the international bargaining table.
On "Europe", too, the Christian Democrats, though still on another planet compared with Britain's Conservatives, may be getting a little more openly assertive of Germany's national interests.
His successor, John Grey Gorton, proved more assertive, especially of a sharper national interest in economic and diplomatic affairs.
Partial comparisons between people can help and majority decisions do carry weight, as long as the interests of the less assertive citizens are not ignored.
Mr. Flynn added that in handling abusive priests, the cardinal "should have been more hands on, he should have been more assertive, he should have protected the interests of innocent children".
It is a matter of convincing Belgium that not only does it have self-interest in a more assertive role, but it also has a uniquely trusted character within Europe that permits it to be effective.
