William Eaton Quotes
Power alone is respected and ... in order to gain peace, the United States has no alternative but to wield it
William Eaton, 1764-1811, Diplomat, Army Officer, American Consul in Tunis, Report on Dealing with the Arabs of The Barbary Coast, Quoted in Michael B. Oren, Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This view maintains that a nation must be willing to use force and appear to others that it is willing if it is to get any benefit from soft power. Others disagree.
He very rarely had to use force, but he was always prepared to if necessary.
This appears to be the first American utterance of a longstanding doctrine of foreign policy.
Iraq’s program of mass destruction weapons development
With promises the success lies in following through and keeping the promise which is usually very costly. A threat that fails meanwhile can be the most expensive thing. We make a threat to deter a foreign power from something. Failure occurs when they are not intimidated and go ahead anyway. Then if we follow through on the threat, that is very costly—a war, a trade embargo, or whatever. Not following through on the threat is the costliest of all as we lose our credibility, trust and honor.
William Eaton was a United States Army officer and the diplomatic officer Consul General to Tunis (1797–1803). He played an important diplomatic and military role in the First Barbary War between the United States and Tripoli (1801–1805). He led the first foreign United States military victory at the Battle of Derne by capturing the Tripoli subject city of Derne in support of the restoration of the pasha (local monarch), Hamet Caramelli. William Eaton also gave testimony at the treason trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr. He served one term in the General Court of Massachusetts (state legislature). Eaton died on June 1, 1811 at the age of forty-seven.
