--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Today's left] would have left us with…" description: "\"[Today's left] would have left us with Slobodan Milosevic in power, Bosnia ethnically cleansed, Kosovo part of Greater Serbia, Afghanistan under the Ta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/christopher-hitchens-117_afghanistan_today-s-left-would-have-left-us-with-slo_2414808.jpg" --- # \[Today's left\] would have left us with Slobodan Milosevic… ![“[Today's left] would have left us with Slobodan Milosevic in power, Bosnia ethnically cleansed, Kosovo part of Greater Serbia, Afghanistan under the Taliban, and Iraq the property of a psychopathic crime family. Now, I'm sorry to say, I've no patience with that leftist mentality anymore.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/christopher-hitchens-117_afghanistan_today-s-left-would-have-left-us-with-slo_2414808.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/christopher-hitchens-117_afghanistan_today-s-left-would-have-left-us-with-slo_2414808.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/christopher-hitchens-117_afghanistan_today-s-left-would-have-left-us-with-slo_2414808.jpg) > “\[Today's left\] would have left us with Slobodan Milosevic in power, Bosnia ethnically cleansed, Kosovo part of Greater Serbia, Afghanistan under the Taliban, and Iraq the property of a psychopathic crime family. Now, I'm sorry to say, I've no patience with that leftist mentality anymore.” [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. The author condemns leftist policies that, in his view, would have led to authoritarian regimes and humanitarian crises, expressing frustration with perceived naïveté. **In simple terms:** Leftist ideas are blamed for global turmoil. Key Takeaway Reject naive leftist optimism. Themes politics history ideology conflict human rights Mood angry critical disillusioned Type political opinion controversial When to use this quote - political analysis - opinion piece - media commentary Key Concepts authoritarianism ethnic cleansing geopolitics policy failure Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports this causal link? - Can alternative policies have avoided these outcomes? A Different Perspective The argument assumes a single cause for complex events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Bosnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosnia/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Kosovo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kosovo/) [Leftist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leftist/) [Leftists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leftists/) [Mentality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentality/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Serbia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serbia/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [I used to wish there was a useful term for those of us who thought American power should be used to remove psychopathic dictators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-used-to-wish-there-was-a-useful-term-for-those-of-us-who-thought/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Playing pool with Korean officials one evening in the Koryo Hotel, which has become the nightspot for foreign businessmen and an increasing number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/playing-pool-with-korean-officials-one-evening-in-the-koryo-hotel/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Left left left right left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trace-adkins/left-left-left-right-left/) [Trace Adkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trace-adkins/) > [If you can't tell what is wrong or right, or what is right or left, put an L on your left shoe and stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-can-t-tell-what-is-wrong-or-right-or-what-is-right-or-left-put/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Those who left, left us a lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-left-left-us-a-lesson/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you said left, then I'd be on the left. If you said right, I'd be on the right. The important thing is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwon-sang-woo/if-you-said-left-then-i-d-be-on-the-left-if-you-said-right-i-d-be-on/) Kwon Sang-woo > [Right where I left you... Not where I left you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/right-where-i-left-you-not-where-i-left-you/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [“You may have left Him alone, but He's never left you alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-evans/you-may-have-left-him-alone-but-he-s-never-left-you-alone/) Marianne Evans > [When I left here I left everything here. It's time to move on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-messier/when-i-left-here-i-left-everything-here-it-s-time-to-move-on/) [Mark Messier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-messier/) > [Where no hope is left, is left no fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/where-no-hope-is-left-is-left-no-fear/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [It's not my fault you left, It's yours. You left because you wanted too, so, not like it matters to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-laura/it-s-not-my-fault-you-left-it-s-yours-you-left-because-you-wanted-too/) [Jasmine Laura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-laura/) > [My dad left when I was 3 1/2, and he left my mom and I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cassidy/my-dad-left-when-i-was-3-1-2-and-he-left-my-mom-and-i/) [David Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cassidy/) > [No Child Left Behind left a lot of kids behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/no-child-left-behind-left-a-lot-of-kids-behind/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [Don't know where to go, right where nothing is right or left where nothing is left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-know-where-to-go-right-where-nothing-is-right-or-left-where/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“James is why I never left. I should have left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avelynn/james-is-why-i-never-left-i-should-have-left/) [Kate Avelynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avelynn/) ## 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 Afghanistan quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [According to a recent Harvard study, $6 trillion, when you include the ongoing healthcare expenses for our wounded soldiers, which is the least they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/according-to-a-recent-harvard-study-6-trillion-when-you-include-the/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [You don't bargain with terrorists. You don't appease terrorists. And anybody who believes that this is about something we've done has to ask themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/you-don-t-bargain-with-terrorists-you-don-t-appease-terrorists-and/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [“I stood with my mom in the cemetery. She felt terrible pain. My grandmother is with God. My mom has to continue living. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/i-stood-with-my-mom-in-the-cemetery-she-felt-terrible-pain-my/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/) [Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I have been to Afghanistan many times, even before the Taliban collapsed. I was fascinated by the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/i-have-been-to-afghanistan-many-times-even-before-the-taliban/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-moral-interventionism-on-the/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The legal system in Afghanistan is very immature and porous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-legal-system-in-afghanistan-is-very-immature-and-porous/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) [Browse all 1,159 Afghanistan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Today's left] would have left us with Slobodan Milosevic in power, Bosnia ethnically cleansed, Kosovo part of Greater Serbia, Afghanistan under the Taliban, and Iraq the property of a psychopathic crime family. 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