Did we not aid the grisly Taliban to achieve and hold power? Yes indeed 'we' did. Well, does that not double or triple our responsibility to remove them from power?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The quote posits that aiding a group to power creates an obligation to remove them if they become harmful.
- In plain terms
- If you helped a group rise, you have a duty to stop them if they fail.
- What can you take from it?
- Responsibility grows when you help create a political outcome.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does aid create an obligation?
- How do we fix past mistakes?
Another view
It assumes aid was intentional rather than circumstantial.
More from Christopher Hitchens
If you're actually certain that you're hitting only a concentration of enemy troops... then it's pretty good because those steel pellets will go straight throu…
Permalink to quote #54 It must be obvious to anyone who can think at all that the charges against the Hussein regime are, as concerns arsenals of genocidal weaponry, true.
Permalink to quote #56 I don't think the war in Afghanistan was ruthlessly enough waged.
Permalink to quote #53
Related quotes
The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public …
Robert F. KennedyRobert F. Kennedy quote #1 I never criticized United States planners for mistakes in Vietnam. True, they made some mistakes, but my criticism was always aimed at what they aimed to do an…
Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky quote #54 [Alan Cranston] understood power not as a reflection of status but as a tool with a purpose.' - Sen. Joseph Biden December 31, 2000 on Meet the Press
Alan CranstonAlan Cranston quote #1