If there's ever an example that military power alone cannot be successful in Afghanistan, I think it was the Soviet experience.
Robert M. GatesRead
I've been very sensitive for a long time to the repeated pattern, during economic hard times or after a war, of the United States' essentially unilaterally disarming.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a concern for the tendency of the United States to reduce its military capabilities during times of economic difficulty or post-conflict.
Robert M. Gates expresses his anxiety regarding a historical pattern observed in the United States, where the country tends to reduce its military resources unilaterally during challenging economic periods or after wars. This pattern raises questions about national security and the implications of disarming when global circumstances may require a robust military presence.
Themes
DisarmamentMilitaryNational SecurityEconomic HardshipHistory
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about national defense, one might say, 'As Robert M. Gates pointed out, we must remain vigilant even during economic challenges.'
More from Robert M. Gates
All quotes βIn my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should 'have his head examined,' as General MacArthur so delicately put it.
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No president is well-served by groupthink or by everybody singing from the same sheet of music they think he's on.
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I will always be an advocate in terms of wars of necessity. I am just much more cautious on wars of choice.
Robert M. GatesRead
If Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us anything in recent history, it is the unpredictability of war and that these things are easier to get into than to get out of, and, frankly, the facile way in which too many people talk about, 'Well, let's just go attack them.'
Robert M. GatesRead
There is no international problem that can be addressed or solved without the engagement and leadership of the United States and everybody in the world knows that, its just fact of life. So sometimes I think we could conduct ourselves with a little more humility.
Robert M. GatesRead
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