We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
The USA is a threat to world peace. Who are they to pretend that they are the policemen of the world, the ones that should decide for the people of Iraq what should be done with their government and their leadership. All that [the USA] wants is Iraqi oil. [Blair is] simply the foreign minister of the United States. He is no longer prime minister of Britain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes the USA's role in global affairs and its motivations for intervening, particularly in Iraq.
Nelson Mandela's quote addresses the perceived hypocrisy of the United States in claiming to uphold world peace while acting in its own interests, particularly in its foreign policy towards Iraq. Mandela suggests that the US intervenes not out of a genuine desire to help, but rather to exploit resources like oil, thereby questioning the moral authority of the US and its allies in dictating the governance of other nations.
Themes
UsaWorld PeaceIraqInterventionOil
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about international relations, citing this quote to emphasize the issues with foreign interventions.
More from Nelson Mandela
All quotes →What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
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The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad.
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We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
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After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
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I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
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