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I am looking for the source of a quote which William F. Buckley Jr. referenced once during a debate. I believe he said it was from "Admiral Fulbright," but I have been completely unable to find it online. The quote goes something like this:

The United States government (as opposed to the United States people) should have no quarrel with the policies of any other nation, no matter how odious, so long as it does not seek to export them.

If anyone can help me with this, I would be immensely grateful.

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    It might be useful if you could pin down when WFBJ made the reference - even to the year might be helpful.
    – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Monica
    Nov 21, 2018 at 2:52
  • I believe it was on Buckley's show "Firing Line," unfortunately that ran from 1966 to 1999 (33 years). I'll check and see if there are transcripts on line anywhere.
    – user1071914
    Nov 23, 2018 at 16:16

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I think I found it. WFB had mangled the quote in his recitation, so I wound up doing very limited searches for only one or two words or phrases. Here's the actual quote and source:

Insofar as a nation is content to practice its doctrines within its own frontiers, that nation, however repugnant its ideology, is one with which we have no proper quarrel.

(Senator J. W. Fulbright, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, in the Senate, March 25, 1964)

Buckley translated this in his conversation as:

The United States government (as opposed to the United States people) should have no quarrel with the policies of any other nation, no matter how odious, so long as it does not seek to export them.

The source was here: Excerpts From Fulbright's Address Urging United States Foreign Policy Changes

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