QuoteProject
The 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S. and coalition partners stands as one of the greatest blunders in American history. The Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, rose out of the the chaos, throwing the region into turmoil that hasn't been equaled since the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
Lawrence Wright
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The invasion of Iraq is viewed as a significant mistake with long-lasting consequences, particularly the rise of ISIS.

Lawrence Wright reflects on the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and its coalition partners, characterizing it as one of the most significant errors in American history. He points out the profound aftermath of this action, especially the emergence of the Islamic State, which has exacerbated instability and chaos in the region, comparable only to historical upheavals like the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Themes

IraqInvasionChaosIsisHistoryMistake

In practice

Example use cases

During a debate on foreign policy, one might reference this quote to emphasize the consequences of military interventions.

More from Lawrence Wright

Hubbard set up the Church of Scientology in Hollywood in 1954 for a reason. He understood that celebrity was increasingly a feature of American public life, and celebrities themselves were going to be worshiped as minor deities were in the ancient world. The idea was: if you could get them, think how many people would follow.
Lawrence WrightRead
When I was trained as a journalist, as a race-relations reporter in Nashville covering the end of the civil-rights movement, we were strictly forbidden to use the first-person pronoun. There was kind of an electric charge around it. To come out from hiding and use the word 'I' carried a lot of fright for me.
Lawrence WrightRead

Similar quotes

If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man, don't bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Neither by nature, then, nor contrary to nature do the virtues arise in us; rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and are made perfect by habit.
AristotleRead
We are all doing drag. Every single person on this planet is doing it.
RupaulRead
Religion is defined as social systems whose participants avow a supernatural agent or agents whose approval is to be sought.
Daniel DennettRead
Be a good ancestor. Stand for something bigger than yourself. Add value to the Earth during your sojourn.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
Mr. Avery said it was written on the Rosetta Stone that when children disobeyed their parents, smoked cigarettes and made war on each other, the seasons would change: Jem and I were burdened with the guilt of contributing to the aberrations of nature, thereby causing unhappiness to our neighbors and discomfort to ourselves.
Harper LeeRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.