Karl Kraus Quotes
How is the world ruled and led to war? Diplomats lie to journalists and believe these lies when they see them in print.
Kraus, Karl. In These Great Times: A Karl Kraus Reader. Edited by Harry Zohn, Engendra Press, 1976.
Theodore Roosevelt was the Presidential nominee. See {634097} and {585962}--Samuel Johnson, for a 1758 version of this idea.
President George W. Bush, to justify the invasion of Iraq had told the public that the Iraqi regime was developing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and had participated in the September 11 attack on the United States by assisting Al Qaeda. It turned out that these statements were false. The administration claimed that their error was well intentioned and the result of faulty intelligence. Opponents claimed that the administration officials knew that they were exaggerating and had pressured the intelligence agencies to create intelligence conclusions that supported their story.
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 quotation was given by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld just prior to the war with Iraq, 2003.
Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He directed his satire at the press, German culture, and German and Austrian politics. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times.
