Kissinger tells the story that he once asked Zhou En-Lai what he thought of the French Revolution. Zhou replied, “It’s too early to tell”.
Most of history is like that.
No one likes war. War is a horrific affair, bloody and expensive. Sending our men and women into battle to perhaps die or be maimed is an unconscionable thought. Yet some wars need to be waged, and someone needs to lead. The Citizenry and Congress are often ambivalent or largely opposed to any given war. It’s up to our leader to convince them. That’s why we call the leader “Commander in Chief.”
This full post by Rob Longenecker is a good illustration of that truth.
It’s been brought to my attention that the anecdote about Kissinger and Zhou has also been attributed to André Malraux and Zhou, as well as to Mao. So take it as a great line but not necessarily as cited above.
Comment by Gill — March 15, 2009 @ 18:41 |