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Iraq may have been a preview of that, but it's still redeemable if we get out fast. In a war with Iran, we'll get dragged down for 20 or 30 years. The world will condemn us. We will lose our position in the world.
Zbigniew Brzezinski
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote warns against prolonged military involvement and emphasizes the need for quick resolution to avoid long-term consequences.

Zbigniew Brzezinski expresses concern that prolonged military engagements, akin to those in Iraq, could lead to severe global repercussions and a diminishing position in international relations. He argues that if the U.S. gets involved in another drawn-out conflict, especially with Iran, it could lead to decades of entanglement, damaging both the country's reputation and strategic standing in the world.

Themes

WarIranIraqPoliticsInternational RelationsConflict

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion on U.S. foreign policy, one could use this quote to highlight the risks of long-term military engagements.

More from Zbigniew Brzezinski

Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter. We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.
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During the twentieth century, men fought on behalf of nationalism. Yet the wars they fought were also engendered by dislocations in world markets and by social revolution stimulated by the coming of the industrial age.
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Constant reference to a 'war on terror' did accomplish one major objective: It stimulated the emergence of a culture of fear.
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The congressional role in declaring war is especially important not when the United States is the victim of an attack, but when the United States is planning to wage war abroad.
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There may be circumstances in which damaging our relationship with countries over human rights is counterproductive and the benefits to human rights may be very small because of our limited capacity to enforce our stance. That was the dilemma the United States faced after Tiananmen Square.
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War on terrorism defines the central preoccupation of the United States in the world today, and it does reflect in my view a rather narrow and extremist vision of foreign policy of the world's first superpower, of a great democracy, with genuinely idealistic traditions.
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