When it comes to terrorism, governments seem to suffer from a collective amnesia. All of our historical experience tells us that there can be no purely military solution to a political problem, and yet every time we confront a new terrorist group, we begin by insisting we will never talk to them.
Interpretation
Governments often ignore historical lessons about terrorism, believing military action alone can solve political issues.
In this quote, Jonathan Powell highlights the recurring cycle of governments addressing terrorist threats with military force rather than diplomatic solutions. He emphasizes that history shows us that military efforts alone do not resolve the underlying political issues that fuel terrorism, yet governments repeatedly approach new terrorist groups with the same ineffective mindset, avoiding dialogue and negotiation.
In practice
In a debate about foreign policy approaches to terrorism.
When the Senate ceases to engage nominees in meaningful discussion of legal issues, the confirmation process takes on an air of vacuity and farce, and the Senate becomes incapable of evaluating nominees or appropriately educating the public.
Trump sees the world in terms of a zero-sum game. In reality, globalisation, if well managed, is a positive-sum force: America gains if its friends and allies - whether Australia, the E.U., or Mexico - are stronger. But Trump's approach threatens to turn it into a negative-sum game: America will lose, too.
The practice of politics in the East may be defined by one word: dissimulation.
We have to repair our country's infrastructure, but we also have to protect and repair the infrastructure of our democracy. It's not either or, it's both and.
I found this national debt doubled, wrapped in a big bow waiting for me as I stepped into the Oval Office.
Only votes talk, everything else walks.
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