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
They realize that in thirty-four months we have built up new instruments of public power. In the hands of a peoples Government this power is wholesome and proper. But in the hands of political puppets of an economic autocracy such power would provide shackles for the liberties of the people.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
Election days come and go. But the struggle of the people to create a government which represents all of us and not just the one percent - a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice - that struggle continues.
Bernie SandersRead
I learned to be far more skeptical of what I'm told by presidents, no matter who the presidents are, and also to be much more cautious, always, in any action or vote that could lead to the use of American military power and most particularly what we call 'boots on the ground.'
Hillary ClintonRead
Those who are politically apathetic can only survive if they are supported by people who are capable of taking action.
PericlesRead
The performance of international institutions will be symptomatic of the domestic political priorities of influential member states. International institutions don't really have a life and a mind of their own.
Samantha PowerRead
The Iranian regime suppresses its own people as well as others in the region. It prevents peace by sponsoring terror globally. With the ultimate weapon that it is deceptively developing, the regime aims to gain hegemony over the entire Middle East and hold the world's economy hostage.
Shimon PeresRead