"...We want treaties that work for us and for the world, like the network of agreements that has succeeded in limiting the spread of nuclear weapons for the past 50 years. When a treaty promises to help countries make progress together toward solving a shared problem, and when the benefits of cooperation outweigh its costs -- as they often do -- then we know we're on the right track. That's what makes a treaty worth signing, not whether we get our way on every detail..."

"...We want treaties that work, for us and for the world. But the U.S. doesn't need to get its way on every detail for a treaty to be good. If you refused to buy a house because you didn't get your way on every point in the negotiation, you'd be sitting outside in the cold; if you rejected every business deal that involved compromise, you'd soon be bankrupt..."

"...Cooperation is a commonsense strategy for getting things done in an interconnected world. Treaties are one way of making progress together toward solving shared problems. Just like laws here at home, international treaties sometimes end up being less effective than we had hoped. But we don't give up on having laws; we work to make them better -- because we know how much worse off we'd all be with no rules-of-the road. The same logic applies to international agreements. You can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good; that's just common sense..."

"...Everyone wants treaties that work for us and the world. But when the United States -- the biggest member of the global team -- walks away from imperfect treaties that address critical global problems, without trying to negotiate improvements, we undermine progress toward effective solutions. That's not right; America should be a constructive force in the world, not a spoiler. What's more, turning our back on international initiatives sends a strong signal that we don't care about the rule of law. It causes others to question our motives and doubt our commitment to making the world a better place for everyone. In the long run, this kind of behavior has a negative effect on our standing and credibility in the global community..."