We owe our children β the most vulnerable citizens in any society β a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
The USA is a threat to world peace. Who are they to pretend that they are the policemen of the world, the ones that should decide for the people of Iraq what should be done with their government and their leadership. All that [the USA] wants is Iraqi oil. [Blair is] simply the foreign minister of the United States. He is no longer prime minister of Britain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes the USA's role in global affairs and its motivations for intervening, particularly in Iraq.
Nelson Mandela's quote addresses the perceived hypocrisy of the United States in claiming to uphold world peace while acting in its own interests, particularly in its foreign policy towards Iraq. Mandela suggests that the US intervenes not out of a genuine desire to help, but rather to exploit resources like oil, thereby questioning the moral authority of the US and its allies in dictating the governance of other nations.
Themes
UsaWorld PeaceIraqInterventionOil
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about international relations, citing this quote to emphasize the issues with foreign interventions.
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