Robert M. Gates Quotes
Every time we have come to the end of a conflict, somehow we have persuaded ourselves that the nature of mankind and the nature of the world have changed on an enduring basis and so we have dismantle our military and intelligence capabilities. My hope is that as we wind down in Iraq and whatever the level of our commitment in Afghanistan, that we not forget the basic nature of humankind has not changed.
Gates, Robert M. Remarks at the American Enterprise Institute. 24 May 2011, Washington, D.C.
1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley. Chamberlain was about to leave for the Munich Conference where his appeasement emboldened Hitler and the Germans and dashed all hope of peace. Baldwin was out of office, but his support of the Munich appeasement changed his image from that of a popular statesman, to a craven appeaser. See {626930} for Churchill’s view of Baldwin.
This seems to be the origin of the notion that democracies and republics are less likely to war with others than monarchies or dictatorships.
The original 1909 title was Europe’s Optical Illusion but it was changed after the first printing.
The same sentiment has been attributed to Aristotle.
Robert Michael Gates is an American intelligence analyst, and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by President George W. Bush and was retained for service by President Barack Obama. Gates began his career serving as an officer in the United States Air Force but was quickly recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gates served for 26 years in the CIA and the National Security Council, and was Director of Central Intelligence under President George H. W. Bush. After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of Texas A&M University and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates served as a member of the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, that studied the lessons of the Iraq War.
