QuoteProject
There is no getting around the reality that the second Iraq war was a war of choice; had it been carried out differently, it still would have been an expensive choice and almost certainly a bad one.
Richard N. Haass
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the inherent difficulties and the moral implications of the decision to engage in the Iraq war, emphasizing that it was a deliberate choice with significant consequences.

Richard N. Haass points out the unavoidable reality that the second Iraq war was a war of choice rather than necessity. He argues that even if the war had been conducted in a different manner, it would still have come with substantial costs and negative outcomes, emphasizing the importance of scrutinizing decisions made in international conflict.

Themes

IraqWarChoiceConsequencesCosts

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a discussion about the ethical implications of military interventions.

More from Richard N. Haass

Democracy requires an informed citizenry able to question its government.
Richard N. HaassRead
American influence in the world depends on the ability to act with real capacity and set an example that others will want to follow. This all takes resources.
Richard N. HaassRead
Nationalism is a tool increasingly used by leaders to bolster their authority, especially amid difficult economic and political conditions.
Richard N. HaassRead
What countries must do to join the World Trade Organization is precisely what they must do to become productive and democratic: accept the rule of law, reduce corruption, and become open, accountable, and transparent.
Richard N. HaassRead
Terrorism needs to be de-legitimized in the way that slavery has been. Doing so will make governments and individuals think twice before becoming a party to terrorism; it should also make it less difficult to garner support for international action against those who nevertheless carry it out.
Richard N. HaassRead
The political world is defined by relationships rather than transactions, and by numerous actors at home and abroad with independent power. Navigating such a world is difficult and precarious.
Richard N. HaassRead

Similar quotes

If heaven is understood more as God's space on earth than as an ethereal region apart from the essential reality we know, then what happens on earth matters even more than we think, for the Christian life becomes a continuation of the unfolding work of Jesus, who will one day return to set the world to rights.
Jon MeachamRead
The principle of contradiction establishes merely the agreement of concepts, but does not itself produce concepts.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
The cities swept about me like dead leaves, leaves that were brightly colored but torn away from the branches. I would have stopped, but I was pursued by something. It always came upon me unawares, taking me altogether by surprise. Perhaps it was a familiar bit of music. Perhaps it was only a piece of transparent glass.
Tennessee WilliamsRead
It is only in our decisions that we are important.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Nothing is harder to direct than a man in prosperity; nothing more easily managed that one is adversity.
PlutarchRead
The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.
Thomas AquinasRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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