Helmut Schmidt Quotes
The West will always be confronted with American solo adventurers.
Helmut Schmidt, West German Chancellor, Men and Powers: A Political Retrospective, 1990
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
with Russia over the independence of Berlin and West Germany
Muslim clerics usually have little education beyond their study of the Koran and other holy books. Unlike most Western clerics who are college graduates, they often have little non-religious sophistication. This quotation is a great example of this. Al-Bouti, interviewed on Syrian TV accuses the United States of something that almost all basic students of political science and international relations know is true of every country including his own. However, the fundamentalist Muslim is supposed to be governed in all things by only one thing—the word of Allah as revealed by His Prophet Muhammad. So he believes that good, moral nations—especially Islamic ones will view the entire world, not through the lens of self interest but through the Koran. Syria, in particular, is one of the most selfish and least moral nations in its diplomacy and foreign policy and much of its activity would even be considered morally wrong by most moderate Islamic clergy.
The American concepts of democracy and human rights have been resented when U. S. policy advocated other nation’s adhering to them.
This size standing army which alarmed so many at the beginning of the 20th century, looked very small when compared with the standing army of America a century later. For earlier American Politician’s views on a standing army, see {592824}, {631687}, {622888}, and {641008}.
American official foreign policy had been officially isolationist—to not get involved in the squabbles and fights of other nations. Angell however pointed out that even before WWII, America had formally been involved in 6 foreign wars and used military incursions on foreign soil on almost 100 occasions.
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1974 to 1982.
