In just one year in Bosnia, thirty of my colleagues died. There is a little Somme waiting for all innocent journalists.
Robert FiskRead
War is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and the infliction of death. It represents the total failure of the human spirit.
Interpretation
What this quote means
War signifies a profound failure of humanity, focusing on loss rather than glory.
This quote by Robert Fisk highlights the grim reality of war, suggesting that its true essence lies not in the outcomes of victory or defeat, but in the tragic consequences of loss of life. It critiques the glorification of war, framing it as a reflection of humanity's failure to resolve conflicts peacefully and ethically, signaling a dark aspect of the human condition.
Themes
WarDeathHuman SpiritFailureConflict
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech against militarism, one might use this quote to emphasize the futility of war.
More from Robert Fisk
All quotes βThe [Israelis] believed - they were possessed of an absolute certainty and conviction - that 'terrorists' were in Chatila. How could I explain to them that the terrorists had left, that the terrorists had worn Israeli uniforms, that the terrorists had been sent into Chatila by Israeli officers, that the victims of the terrorists were not Israelis but Palestinians and Lebanese?
Robert FiskRead
U.S. journalists I don't think are very courageous. They tend to go along with the government's policy domestically and internationally. To question is seen as being unpatriotic, or potentially subversive.
Robert FiskRead
The biggest problem I have in journalism is being quoted or misquoted and then being asked to defend something I haven't said.
Robert FiskRead
There is nothing so satisfying as to be shot at without effect.
Robert FiskRead
After the allied victory of 1918, at the end of my father's war, the victors divided up the lands of their former enemies. In the space of just seventeen months, they created the borders of Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia and most of the Middle East. And I have spent my entire career β in Belfast and Sarajevo, in Beirut and Baghdad β watching the people within those borders burn.
Robert FiskRead
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