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There's a great deal of criticism about the United States, but there is one thing that nobody criticizes the United States. Nobody thinks the United States went to strike against Iraq in order to gain land or water or oil, nobody thinks America has any ambitions about real estate. As it happened in the 20th century, the American boys went to fight in two world wars, many of them lost their lives. The United States won the wars, won the land, but you gave back every piece of it. America didn't keep anything out of her victories for herself. You gave back Japan, an improved Japan, you gave Germany, an improved Germany, you've heard the Marshall Plan. And today, I do not believe there is any serious person on earth who thinks the United States, whether you agree or don't agree with this strike, has any egoistic or material purposes in the war against Iraq. The reason is, for this strike, that you cannot let the world run wild. And people who are coming from different corners of our life, attack and kill women and children and innocent people, just out of the blue. And I think the whole world is lucky that there is a United States that has the will and the power to handle the new danger that has arrived on the 21st century.

Shimon Peres#1

WarHistoryPoliticsInternational relations

About this quote

What does it mean?
Peres argues that the U.S. acts without material gain in wars, citing past conflicts where it returned conquered lands.
In plain terms
America fights for values not land because it gave back what it won.
What can you take from it?
Motives in war should be judged by past actions.

Where it applies

  • policy debate
  • international relations
  • historical analysis

Putting it to work

  • justify military action
  • analyze motives
  • build trust

Questions to consider

  • Can nations fight purely for ideals?
  • How do we verify motives?

Another view

It ignores complex geopolitical interests beyond land acquisition.

More from Shimon Peres

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  2. There isn't a single person in Israel who wants to destroy or harm Egypt. In contrast, there's a whole country that openly wants to destroy Israel, and that's …

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  3. The borders will be based on 1967, with the required security modifications. If we take a certain percentage of the Palestinian land, we will compensate them w…

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