Democracy requires an informed citizenry able to question its government.
Richard N. HaassRead
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.
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
All quotes →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
The scrupulous and the just, the noble, humane, and devoted natures; the unselfish and the intelligent may begin a movement - but it passes away from them. They are not the leaders of a revolution. They are its victims.
Joseph ConradRead
As individuals express their life, so they are. What they are, therefore, coincides with their production, both with what they produce and with how they produce. The nature of individuals thus depends on the material conditions determining their production.
Karl MarxRead
How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought which is independent of experience, is so admirably appropriate to the objects of reality?
Albert EinsteinRead
It's the first effect of not believing in God that you lose your common sense.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
Perhaps the surest test of an individual's integrity is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect.
Thomas S. MonsonRead
A force as of madness in the hands of reason has done all that was ever done in the world.
Thomas CarlyleRead