“From the end of World War II until 1980, virtually no American soldiers were killed in action while serving in that region. Within a decade, a great shift occurred. Since 1990, virtually no American soldiers have been killed anywhere except the Greater Middle East.”
America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (2016).
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Andrew Bacevich13
United States Army officer 1947Related quotes
Ellen Willis (1941–2006) writer, activist
"Dreaming of War," The Nation (15 October 2001)
Context: For a decade Americans have been steeped in the rhetoric of "zero tolerance" and the faith that virtually all problems from drug addiction to lousy teaching can be solved by pouring on the punishment. Even without a Commander in Chief who pledges to rid the world of evildoers, smoke them out of their holes and the like, we would be vulnerable to the temptation to brush aside frustrating complexities and relieve intolerable fear (at least for the moment) by settling on one or more scapegoats to crush. To imagine that trauma casts out fantasy is a dangerous mistake.
Murray N. Rothbard (1926–1995) American economist of the Austrian School, libertarian political theorist, and historian
1968 https://www.lewrockwell.com/1970/01/murray-n-rothbard/cold-war-myths/
Alexander Haig (1924–2010) former U.S. States Secretary of State and U.S. Army general
http://yoramettinger.newsnet.co.il/Front/Newsnet/reports.asp?reportId=59798
Golda Meir (1898–1978) former prime minister of Israel
Source: https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=iFsKDzuRfNkC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=I+have+given+instructions+that+I+be+informed+every+time+one+of+our+soldiers+is+killed,+even+if+it+is+in+the+middle+of+the+night.+When+President+Nasser+leaves+instructions+that+he+is+to+be+awakened+in+the+middle+of+the+night+if+an+Egyptian+soldier+is+killed,+there+will+be+peace.&source=bl&ots=uyEzv-aQ4v&sig=ee9r_1Rchk34xECFV2PoqgnTLYk&hl=es-419&sa=X&ei=_ZOgVNjyBZKDNsT6gbAL&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=I%20have%20given%20instructions%20that%20I%20be%20informed%20every%20time%20one%20of%20our%20soldiers%20is%20killed%2C%20even%20if%20it%20is%20in%20the%20middle%20of%20the%20night.%20When%20President%20Nasser%20leaves%20instructions%20that%20he%20is%20to%20be%20awakened%20in%20the%20middle%20of%20the%20night%20if%20an%20Egyptian%20soldier%20is%20killed%2C%20there%20will%20be%20peace.&f=false
“I haven't been this happy
since the end of World War II.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian poet and singer-songwriter
"Waiting for the Miracle" (co-written with Sharon Robinson)
The Future (1992)
Context: Waiting for the miracle
There's nothing left to do.
I haven't been this happy
since the end of World War II.
“A soldier's job was to kill. A rifle killed.”
Bernard Cornwell (1944) British writer
Major Richard Sharpe, p. 55
Sharpe (Novel Series), Sharpe's Enemy (1984)
Context: He was a Major now, the ranks long in his past, yet he still carried the rifle. He had always carried a long-arm into battle; a musket when he was a private, a rifle now he was an officer. He saw no reason not to carry a gun. A soldier's job was to kill. A rifle killed.
Curtis LeMay (1906–1990) American general and politician
From his autobiography, also requoted in Rhodes, 'The Making of the Atomic Bomb', p. 596
Muammar Gaddafi (1942–2011) Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist
Reaction to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, quoted in CBSNews.com (12 September 2001) "Global Outrage At Terror Attacks"
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