The public think the politicians don't know or care about their lives; and the politicians feel misunderstood.
Tony BlairRead
We expected, I expected to find actual usable, chemical or biological weapons after we entered Iraq. But I have to accept, as the months have passed, it seems increasingly clear that at the time of invasion, Saddam did not have stockpiles of chemical or biological weapons ready to deploy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the realization and admission that expectations about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction were incorrect.
In this quote, Tony Blair acknowledges the discrepancy between the expectation of finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the reality that such weapons were not actually present at the time of the invasion. It highlights the complexities and uncertainties involved in military interventions and the challenges of intelligence assessments.
Themes
WeaponsIraqSaddamBlairTruthExpectation
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about the justification of the Iraq War, this quote can illustrate the failure of intelligence.
More from Tony Blair
All quotes →There is no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just a choice: Defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must.
Tony BlairRead
Ask me my three main priorities for government, and I tell you: education, education and education.
Tony BlairRead
However much I dislike the idea of abortion, you should not criminalize a woman who, in very difficult circumstances, makes that choice.
Tony BlairRead
I want my son to grow up in a place where the people are more powerful than the government and not the other way around.
Tony BlairRead
The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge.
Tony BlairRead
Similar quotes
Under its current form, that is imperialism-controlled, debt is a cleverly managed re-conquest of Africa, aiming at subjugating its growth and development through foreign rules. Thus, each one of us becomes the financial slave, which is to say a true slave.
Thomas SankaraRead
No government can help the destinies of people who insist in putting sectional and class consciousness ahead of general weal.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
The U.S. should never get involved where we have no clear national interest. We should not intervene militarily in a country like Syria, where we can’t separate friend from foe and might end up arming the very people who hate us the most.
Rand PaulRead
Damn your principles! Stick to your party.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
The essence of government is control, or the attempt to control.
Benjamin TuckerRead
My view of democratic socialism builds on the success of many other countries around the world that have done a far better job than we have in protecting the needs of their working families, their elderly citizens, the children, the sick and the poor.
Bernie SandersRead