Kanan Makiya (1949) American orientalist
"The Shiite Obligation", Wall Street Journal (February 7, 2005)
Kanan Makiya (1949) American orientalist
"The Shiite Obligation", Wall Street Journal (February 7, 2005)
Thomas Friedman (1953) American journalist and author
New York Times (28 May 2005) "The Endgame in Iraq".
"The next … months" in Iraq
“it doesn t matter if it takes a long time getting there; the point is to have a destination.”
Eudora Welty (1909–2001) American author
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2011, Address on interventions in Libya (March 2011)
Context: Much of the debate in Washington has put forward a false choice when it comes to Libya. On the one hand, some question why America should intervene at all — even in limited ways — in this distant land. They argue that there are many places in the world where innocent civilians face brutal violence at the hands of their government, and America should not be expected to police the world, particularly when we have so many pressing needs here at home.
It’s true that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. And given the costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests against the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what’s right. In this particular country — Libya — at this particular moment, we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific scale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence: an international mandate for action, a broad coalition prepared to join us, the support of Arab countries, and a plea for help from the Libyan people themselves. We also had the ability to stop Qaddafi’s forces in their tracks without putting American troops on the ground.
To brush aside America’s responsibility as a leader and — more profoundly — our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.
“If there is any violations, we will take actions against anybody, anybody. I am ready to do that.”
Mahinda Rajapaksa (1945) Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Quoted in BBC News, "Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa hits out at critics" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24936948, November 14, 2013; and quoted from Indepentdent.ie, "Sri Lanka defends rights record" http://www.independent.ie/world-news/sri-lanka-defends-rights-record-29754169.html, 14 November, 2013.
Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953–2001) Afghan military leader
Meeting with European legislators http://www.afghanistannewscenter.com/news/2000/june/jun23i2000.html (11 June 2000).
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
On his 75th birthday (1947), in reply to a question on whether he was afraid of death, quoted in the N. Y. Times Magazine on November 1, 1964, p. 40 according to Quote It Completely! (1998), Gerhart, Wm. S. Hein Publishing, p. 262 ISBN 1575884003
Post-war years (1945–1955)
Reza Pahlavi (1960) Last crown prince of the former Imperial State of Iran
As quoted by Nadezhda Popova, Reza Pahalavi, Son Of The Last Shah Of Iran: “No War Is Needed – We Will Topple This Regime Ourselves” http://www.rezapahlavi.org/details_article.php?article=22&page=6, Izvetsiya, May 29, 2006. <br class="br">Interviews, 2006
Tawakkol Karman (1979) Yemeni journalist, politician, human rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient
2010s, Tawakul Karman, Yemeni activist, and thorn in the side of Saleh (2011)
Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American art collector and experimental writer of novels, poetry and plays
Source: Everybody’s Autobiography (1937), Ch. 5