“In 1968, we won a substantial military victory, as we did in 2003; we then fumbled them away because of our inability to keep a long-term focus on the political aftermath, and we live with the results to this day. This is, so to speak, the advantage tyrants and dictators have over democracies: they can force their people to pay attention to the problems they choose to address, and for as long as they wish”
or until their people overthrow them, which is not all that common
2010s, Interview with Sara Gabbard (2018)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Allen C. Guelzo82
American historian 1953Related quotes
Neal Stephenson (1959) American science fiction writer
In response to whether Anathem "reflects today's culture or politics," from an interview published Sept. 22, 2008 by MIT News http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stephenson-qa-0922.html
George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States
2000s, 2003, Remarks on U.S.-British relations and foreign policy (November 2003)
Epeli Ganilau (1951) Fijian politician
Excerpts from a speech at the launch of the NAP, 8 April 2005
Charles Eisenstein (1967) American writer
Charles Eisenstein, Oral presentation in Baltimore, MD March 2012
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2016, News Conference With Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany (November 2016)
“We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.”
Khalil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese artist, poet, and writer
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
Remarks by President Obama in Address to the United Nations General Assembly (24 September 2013) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/24/remarks-president-obama-address-united-nations-general-assembly <br class="br">2013
Jared Diamond book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Source: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005), Chapter "The world as a polder: what does it all mean to us today?", section "Reasons for hope" (Penguin Books, 2011, pages 521-522, ISBN 978-0-241-95868-1.