“I don't care how precise your bombs and your weapons are, when you set them off, innocent people will die.”

—  Bill Clinton

At a Labour Party conference in the UK, quoted in The Independent. "Clinton urges caution over Iraq as Bush is granted war powers" (3 October 2002) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/clinton-urges-caution-over-iraq-as-bush-is-granted-war-powers-607775.html
2000s
Context: A preemptive action today, however well-justified, may come back with unwelcome consequences in the future. And because … I've done this. I've ordered these kinds of actions — I don't care how precise your bombs and your weapons are, when you set them off, innocent people will die.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I don't care how precise your bombs and your weapons are, when you set them off, innocent people will die." by Bill Clinton?
Bill Clinton photo
Bill Clinton 99
42nd President of the United States 1946

Related quotes

P. J. O'Rourke photo

“Killing innocent people by surprise is not called 'a thousand points of light.' But, as frightening as terrorism is, it's the weapon of losers. The minute somebody sets off a suicide bomb, you can be sure that person doesn't have 'career prospects.' And no matter how horrendous a terrorist attack is, it's still conducted by losers.”

P. J. O'Rourke (1947) American journalist

"Putting Words in the President's Mouth" (12 October 2004)
Context: Saddam Hussein was reduced to the Unabomber — Ted Kaczynski — a nutcase hiding in the sticks. Sure, the terrorism by his supporters is frightening. Hence, its name, 'terrorism.' Killing innocent people by surprise is not called 'a thousand points of light.' But, as frightening as terrorism is, it's the weapon of losers. The minute somebody sets off a suicide bomb, you can be sure that person doesn't have 'career prospects.' And no matter how horrendous a terrorist attack is, it's still conducted by losers. Winners don't need to hijack airplanes. Winners have an Air Force.

Donald Rumsfeld photo

“And there is, I am certain, among the Iraqi people a respect for the care and the precision that went into the bombing campaign.”

Donald Rumsfeld (1932) U.S. Secretary of Defense

DoD News Briefing April 09, 2003 http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=2339
2000s

Ashraf Pahlavi photo

“I don't care when I die, when you die, you die. What I don't want is to die in my bed. To be killed in an accident or to be shot is my preferred way to die.”

Ashraf Pahlavi (1919–2016) Iranian royal

In Bitter American Exile, the Shah's Twin Sister, Ashraf, Defends Their Dynasty (1980)

Yousef Saanei photo

“There is complete consensus on this issue. It is self-evident in Islam that it is prohibited to have nuclear bombs. It is eternal law, because the basic function of these weapons is to kill innocent people. This cannot be reversed … You cannot deliberately kill innocent people.”

Yousef Saanei (1937) Iranian grand ayatollah

As quoted in "Nuclear weapons unholy, Iran says" in SFGate (31 October 2003) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/10/31/MNGHJ2NFRE1.DTL.
2003

Ludwig Wittgenstein photo

“Resting on your laurels is as dangerous as resting when you are walking in the snow. You doze off and die in your sleep.”

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Austrian-British philosopher

Source: Culture and Value (1980), p. 35e

Irène Némirovsky photo

“When you love someone as much as that, you don't believe they can die. You think your love protects them.”

Irène Némirovsky (1903–1942) French novelist who died at the age of 39 in Auschwitz

Source: The Wine of Solitude

William M. Tweed photo

“I don't care a straw for your newspaper articles; my constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures.”

William M. Tweed (1823–1878) United States politician

On the political cartoons of Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, as quoted in "Article IV: An Episode in Municipal Government" by Charles F. Wingate in The North American Review (July 1875), p. 150

“Please don't die," she whispered. "I don't think I can bury
you. I already buried everyone else."

"How can I die," Alexander said, his voice breaking, "when you
have poured your immortal blood into me?”

Paullina Simons book The Bronze Horseman

Source: The Bronze Horseman

Tony Kushner photo

“I don't understand why I'm not dead. When your heart breaks, you should die”

Tony Kushner Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes

Source: Angels in America

John Mearsheimer photo

“Furthermore there's the whole argument that the administration made, that so many people were killed by chemical weapons. Their number was around 1,400, the fact of the matter is that over 40,000 other people were killed with bombs and bullets, before those 1,400 people. If 40,000 people were killed, and that didn't provide a moral justification for intervention, what's the moral justification for killing people… when 1,400 die with chemical weapons. I don't get it, in fact, I don't think there's a moral case to be made for intervention.”

John Mearsheimer (1947) American political scientist

John Mearsheimer on America Unhinged https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwqqzh59sVo provided by the Center for the National Interest. Here Mearsheimer is speaking about the Syrian conflict and potential United States intervention due to the Assad's regime alleged usage of chemical devices.

Related topics