Tariq Ali Quotes
The U.S. should come out openly and say to the world, "We are the only imperial power, and we're going to rule you, and if you don't like it you can lump it."
Ali, Tariq. Interview by Matthew Rothschild. The Progressive, vol. 66, no. 1, Jan. 2002, p. 33.
Patton was a great fighting general, but a disaster at civilian and public relations. At a time when the American and British governments were arguing that their involvement in world war two was for the benefit and protection of mankind, Patton made public statements like this one.
At the end of WWII there was much tension between Russia and the Anglo-American alliance. This plan was developed but never implemented. See {613195} for Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s description of the invasion idea.
Shariatmadari sometimes serves as a spokesman for major Religious officials of the Iranian theocracy. This quotation is particularly interesting as it illustrates a particular world view of some Iranian leaders that makes it almost impossible to cope with problems through diplomatic means. The argument is that if Iran negotiates with America on any issue, Iran would be a poor example to other Islamic nations because they would conclude that Iran and all Muslim countries had no choice but get along with America. The idea that negotiating with a nation means that a country is “getting along” with the other country is of course the absurdity. But it is believed by many in the Muslim world. Ironically that same view is held by “hard liners” in America and most other countries in addition to Iran. There are Americans who do not believe that we should negotiate with Iran at all because the negotiations gives them a status that they do not deserve. And it connotes a level of approval by America of Iran just to talk with them.
This is a statement that was meant as a criticism but would be interpreted by many Americans as just a straight forward description. Many believe that is the way it should be.
Tariq Ali is a British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the New Left Review and Sin Permiso, and contributes to The Guardian, CounterPunch, and the London Review of Books. He read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Exeter College, Oxford.
