Charles Paget Quotes
What the devil are we going to be at with this great fleet, and the reinforcements if ships and troops that are following? The Danes have done nothing hostile towards us … Would it be justifiable without any previous hostile act?
The English were at War with Napoleon and Denmark was neutral. British leaders feared that Denmark might either ally themselves with Napoleon or provide him with ships from their well equipped fleet. The English decided on a preemptive attack on Denmark and Paget and other Captains were ordered to Denmark. When they arrived they were ordered to bombard Copenhagen and force the Danes to surrender. When this happened, the British seized the Danish ships and simply took them as war prizes. The issues of the morality and wisdom of preemptive attacks, as with the Americans in the Iraq war, was thoroughly debated but the government view prevailed to the shame of most Englishmen.
Charles Paget, 1778-1839, English Naval Admiral & Captain on the Attack on Copenhagen, Letter to his brother, the diplomat, Arthur Paget, July 31, 1807
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
At the time the President denied that he had decided to invade Iraq. Skelton saw the “handwriting on the world.”
He was criticizing the George W. Bush administration for attacking Iraq, a country which had not attacked the United States or Americans abroad while America did not attack those terrorists and countries which had killed Americans. For example, Hezbollah which blew up the Marine Barracks in Lebanon and the naval ship Cole.
The highest court in New York. Kent did not originate this concept. He was stating an age old principle of law: Posse vicinum impediri, ne in suo solo, sine alia causa suaque evidenti utilitate, munimentum nobis propinquum extruat, aut aliud quid faciat, unde justa formido periculi oriatur.
At the time of this speech virtually the entire world believed that. However world attitude changed markedly after the administration of George W. Bush and the United States invasion of Afghanistan after September 11 and the Iraq War which was for regime change.
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Paget GCH was a British sailor who also became a liberal politician and Member of Parliament.
