---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No possible future government in Kabul…"
description: "\"No possible future government in Kabul can be worse than the Taliban, and no thinkable future government would allow the level of Al Qaeda gangsterism ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/christopher-hitchens-117_al-qaeda_no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-c_2862590.jpg"
---

#  No possible future government in Kabul can be worse than…

![“No possible future government in Kabul can be worse than the Taliban, and no thinkable future government would allow the level of Al Qaeda gangsterism to recur. So the outcome is proportionate and congruent with international principles of self-defense.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/christopher-hitchens-117_al-qaeda_no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-c_2862590.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/christopher-hitchens-117_al-qaeda_no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-c_2862590.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/christopher-hitchens-117_al-qaeda_no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-c_2862590.jpg)

> “No possible future government in Kabul can be worse than the Taliban, and no thinkable future government would allow the level of Al Qaeda gangsterism to recur. So the outcome is proportionate and congruent with international principles of self-defense.”

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Any future Afghan government will be no better than the Taliban; Al Qaeda's influence persists, justifying self-defense.

**In simple terms:** Afghan governments likely remain oppressive.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for effective, ethical intervention.

Themes

politics conflict ethics

Mood

skeptical serious

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- diplomacy
- military action
- policy reform

Key Concepts

international law terrorism human rights

Questions to Reflect On

- What alternatives exist to military action?
- How to balance security and sovereignty?

A Different Perspective

Self-defense justification can be contested.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Kabul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kabul/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-defense/)

## Related quotes

> [In order to be able to set a limit to thought, we should have to find both sides of the limit thinkable (i.e. we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/in-order-to-be-able-to-set-a-limit-to-thought-we-should-have-to-find/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [Journalism is the only thinkable alternative to working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-bernard/journalism-is-the-only-thinkable-alternative-to-working/)

[Jeffrey Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-bernard/)

> [What we learned on September 11 is that the unthinkable is now thinkable in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashcroft/what-we-learned-on-september-11-is-that-the-unthinkable-is-now/)

[John Ashcroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashcroft/)

> [That," he whispered, "is unthinkable." In Mosca’s experience, such statements generally meant that a thing was perfectly thinkable, but that the speaker did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/that-he-whispered-is-unthinkable-in-mosca-s-experience-such/)

[Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/)

> [In the meantime, what is lost is any sense that the Palestinian resistance to Israeli colonial rule is waged from a situation of occupation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/in-the-meantime-what-is-lost-is-any-sense-that-the-palestinian/)

[Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/)

> [People drift from generation to generation, and the morally unthinkable becomes thinkable as the years move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/people-drift-from-generation-to-generation-and-the-morally/)

[Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/)

> [If thinking is like perceiving, it must be either a process in which the soul is acted upon by what is capable of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/if-thinking-is-like-perceiving-it-must-be-either-a-process-in-which/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [“You adapt: the impossible becomes imaginable, thinkable, logical. Three easy steps." from Best Friends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-moody/you-adapt-the-impossible-becomes-imaginable-thinkable-logical-three/)

Martha Moody

> [For the greatest revolutionary changes on this earth would not have been thinkable if their motive force, instead of fanatical, yes, hysterical passion, had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/for-the-greatest-revolutionary-changes-on-this-earth-would-not-have/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [Think the editable and edit the thinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/think-the-editable-and-edit-the-thinkable/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [Philosophy limits the thinkable and therefore the unthinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/philosophy-limits-the-thinkable-and-therefore-the-unthinkable/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [The implications of the transfer of full sovereignty from separate nations to a World Organization. . .Political unification in some sort of World Government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/the-implications-of-the-transfer-of-full-sovereignty-from-separate/)

[Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/)

> [A God is thinkable, therefore a God is also actually present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/a-god-is-thinkable-therefore-a-god-is-also-actually-present/)

[Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/)

> [When the pain of continuing exceeds the pain of stopping, a threshold is crossed. What seemed unthinkable becomes thinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/when-the-pain-of-continuing-exceeds-the-pain-of-stopping-a-threshold/)

[Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/)

> [Imagination is a danger thus every totalitarian regime is frightened of the artist. It is the vocation of the prophet to keep alive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/imagination-is-a-danger-thus-every-totalitarian-regime-is-frightened/)

[Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/)

## More by Christopher Hitchens

> [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

[Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

## More Al qaeda quotes

> [There's overwhelming evidence... circumstantial and otherwise, to suggest a connection between Iraq and al Qaeda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/there-s-overwhelming-evidence-circumstantial-and-otherwise-to-suggest/)

[Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/)

> [Critics have stepped up their attacks on the President for authorizing the National Security Agency to listen to international communications of known al Qaeda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclellan/critics-have-stepped-up-their-attacks-on-the-president-for/)

[Scott McClellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclellan/)

> [“I do not go to church. I don’t go to Christian church or Jew church or any other church. I don’t go to church…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ian-black/i-do-not-go-to-church-i-don-t-go-to-christian-church-or-jew-church-or/)

[Michael Ian Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ian-black/)

> [ This war \[in Syria\] is going to support Al-Qaeda and the same people that killed Americans in the 11th of September. The second thing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/this-war-in-syria-is-going-to-support-al-qaeda-and-the-same-people/)

[Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/)

> [The people who illegally cross into the country are from countries that have very close ties to al Qaeda, whether it's Yemen or Afghanistan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/the-people-who-illegally-cross-into-the-country-are-from-countries/)

[Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/)

> [The White House was signaling that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein was of such urgency that it had priority over the crushing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-graham/the-white-house-was-signaling-that-the-threat-posed-by-saddam-hussein/)

[Bob Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-graham/)

> [I was on the front lines in the Cold War, and I was on the front lines in the fight against Al Qaeda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-haspel/i-was-on-the-front-lines-in-the-cold-war-and-i-was-on-the-front-lines/)

[Gina Haspel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-haspel/)

> [If you don't understand what al Qaeda was trying to do on 9/11, if you don't have a sense of who Osama bin Laden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/if-you-don-t-understand-what-al-qaeda-was-trying-to-do-on-9-11-if-you/)

[Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/)

> [Some have argued that the President is required to get permission from a federal court before taking action against a United States citizen who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/some-have-argued-that-the-president-is-required-to-get-permission/)

[Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/)

> [Iraq, for the first time, gives al Qaeda and its allies contiguous safe-haven territory to train and launch attacks into the Levant. First into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/iraq-for-the-first-time-gives-al-qaeda-and-its-allies-contiguous-safe/)

[Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/)

> [The idea the president of the United States was warned that Al-Qaeda was going to attack the United States and did nothing about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/the-idea-the-president-of-the-united-states-was-warned-that-al-qaeda/)

[Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/)

> [There's more evil in the charts than an Al-Qaeda suggestion box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bailey/there-s-more-evil-in-the-charts-than-an-al-qaeda-suggestion-box/)

[Bill Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bailey/)

> [Muslim leaders around the globe have to continue working with us to decisively and unequivocally reject the hateful ideology that groups like ISIL and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/muslim-leaders-around-the-globe-have-to-continue-working-with-us-to/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Mistreatment of al Qaeda members and their friends and hangers-on is something I number among my moral concerns. But it's number 1,000,000,001.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/mistreatment-of-al-qaeda-members-and-their-friends-and-hangers-on-is/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [(The United States) is the same as al-Qaeda, under a different color flag, calling on the name a different God to sanction and approve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-wright/the-united-states-is-the-same-as-al-qaeda-under-a-different-color/)

[Jeremiah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-wright/)

Browse all 360 Al qaeda quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "No possible future government in Kabul can be worse than the Taliban, and no thinkable future government would allow the level of Al Qaeda gangsterism to recur. So the outcome is proportionate and congruent with international principles of self-defense.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Christopher Hitchens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-can-be-worse-than-the-taliban/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Al qaeda"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-can-be-worse-than-the-taliban/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/christopher-hitchens-117_al-qaeda_no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-c_2862590.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/christopher-hitchens-117_al-qaeda_no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-c_2862590.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/christopher-hitchens-117_al-qaeda_no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-c_2862590.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“No possible future government in Kabul can be worse than the Taliban, and no thinkable future government…” — Christopher Hitchens",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Christopher Hitchens",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "No possible future government in Kabul...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-can-be-worse-than-the-taliban/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/no-possible-future-government-in-kabul-can-be-worse-than-the-taliban/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
