The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have consequences far into this century. If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch.
George W. BushRead
I sent American troops to Iraq to make its people free, not to make them American. Iraqis will write their own history and find their own way.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the intention behind military intervention, highlighting the desire for Iraqi autonomy rather than American influence.
George W. Bush's quote reflects on the U.S. military intervention in Iraq, asserting that the primary goal was to liberate the Iraqi people rather than impose American values or systems. It speaks to the concept of sovereignty and the belief that nations should govern themselves and determine their own paths in history, indicating a respect for the intrinsic right of people to shape their own future without external domination.
Themes
FreedomSovereigntyIraqMilitaryHistoryAutonomy
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about military engagement, quoting this can emphasize the aim of liberating oppressed nations.
More from George W. Bush
All quotes βThousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger.
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Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended.
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Use power to help people. For we are given power not to advance our own purposes nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power and it is to serve people.
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Adoption was such a positive alternative to abortion, a way to save one life and brighten two more: those of the adoptive parents.
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We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind before. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions - by abandoning every value except the will to power - they follow in the path of fascism, and Nazism, and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends: in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies.
George W. BushRead
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