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And I knew Bill Clinton became one of the boys when he bombed Iraq. Remember that? It was just a little news story for two days, isn't that interesting? He launched 22 cruise missiles against Baghdad in retaliation for the alleged assassination attempt against George Bush, which failed. We killed six innocent people, launching twenty two, I think three million dollars-a-piece missiles on Baghdad, killing six innocent people. Umm : I think that's a little bit overdoing it if you ask me. What we should have done is embarrass the Iraqis. And here's how we should have done it: We should have assassinated Bush ourselves. 'There, that's how you do it, towel heads. Don't fuck with us.' And see, if it had been Bush who had died, there would have been no loss of innocent life.

Bill Hicks#74

PoliticsSatireWarMilitaryForeign policy

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker uses satire to criticize military retaliation and the disproportionate use of force.
In plain terms
Using missiles to kill few people for a minor issue seems excessive.
What can you take from it?
Military force often costs more than it solves.

Where it applies

  • political commentary
  • international relations

Putting it to work

  • critique military spending
  • analyze foreign policy

Questions to consider

  • When is military action justified?
  • How do we value human life in war?

Another view

The satire uses extreme hypotheticals to make a point.

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