--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there's another 9/11 or a major war in…" description: "\"If there's another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East involving a U.S. attack on Iran, I have no doubt that there will be, the day after or within ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c6/daniel-ellsberg-11718_country_if-there-s-another-9-11-or-a-major-war-i_149547.jpg" --- # If there's another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East… ![“If there's another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East involving a U.S. attack on Iran, I have no doubt that there will be, the day after or within days an equivalent of a Reichstag fire decree that will involve massive detentions in this country.” quote by Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c6/daniel-ellsberg-11718_country_if-there-s-another-9-11-or-a-major-war-i_149547.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c6/daniel-ellsberg-11718_country_if-there-s-another-9-11-or-a-major-war-i_149547.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c6/daniel-ellsberg-11718_country_if-there-s-another-9-11-or-a-major-war-i_149547.jpg) > “If there's another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East involving a U.S. attack on Iran, I have no doubt that there will be, the day after or within days an equivalent of a Reichstag fire decree that will involve massive detentions in this country.” [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A major crisis could trigger swift, sweeping government actions that limit freedoms. **In simple terms:** Crises may lead to extreme government measures. Key Takeaway Beware of overreaching policies in emergencies. Themes politics security civil liberties government power crisis response Mood cautious concerned Type political warning When to use this quote - national emergencies - war - terror attacks - policy debates Key Concepts authoritarianism emergency powers public safety Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance security and freedom? - What safeguards prevent abuse? A Different Perspective Such measures often erode democratic norms and can be abused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Iran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iran/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Middle east](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-east/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [It is urgent to prevent new U.S. aggression. The time is now for the world to say 'no' to U.S. threats of air attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/it-is-urgent-to-prevent-new-u-s-aggression-the-time-is-now-for-the/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/this-notion-that-the-united-states-is-getting-ready-to-attack-iran-is/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I still think, despite everything, that the US is very unlikely to attack Iran. It could be a huge catastrophe; nobody knows what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-still-think-despite-everything-that-the-us-is-very-unlikely-to/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“A number I'd love to know: the % of those now saying 'we have to vote Obama to stop an attack on Iran' who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/a-number-i-d-love-to-know-the-of-those-now-saying-we-have-to-vote/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [If the U.S. was to leads a military attack on Iran then we would enter doomsday territory, and the markets would put renewed faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-parry/if-the-u-s-was-to-leads-a-military-attack-on-iran-then-we-would-enter/) Matthew Parry > [If the United States was mad enough to attack Iran or aggress Venezuela again the price of a barrel of oil could reach $150…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/if-the-united-states-was-mad-enough-to-attack-iran-or-aggress/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [If the Americans attack Iran for the first time in 1,400 years, we may unite Sunnis and Shias against us. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-marrs/the-achievement-of-this-goal-will-require-a-major-war-a-world-war/) [Jim Marrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-marrs/) > [If the Zionist commit the folly and attack Iran, they will receive a crushing response from the Islamic Republic's armed forces which will lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsen-rezaee/if-the-zionist-commit-the-folly-and-attack-iran-they-will-receive-a/) Mohsen Rezaee > [I don't think a wise thing at this moment is for Israel to launch a military attack on Iran.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hague/i-don-t-think-a-wise-thing-at-this-moment-is-for-israel-to-launch-a/) [William Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hague/) > [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. 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On the other hand, we learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/on-one-hand-we-know-that-everything-happens-for-a-reason-and-there/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/what-is-to-be-will-be-and-no-prayers-of-ours-can-arrest-the-decree/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness... We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/kings-or-parliaments-could-not-give-the-rights-essential-to-happiness/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) ## More by Daniel Ellsberg > [If monarchy is corrupting - and it is - wait till you see what overt empire does to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/if-monarchy-is-corrupting-and-it-is-wait-till-you-see-what-overt/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [There are some things that should not be leaked without authorization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/there-are-some-things-that-should-not-be-leaked-without-authorization/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [“The cliché that “everything leaks; it all comes out in the New York Times eventually” is emphatically not true, above all for sensitive compartmented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/the-clich-that-everything-leaks-it-all-comes-out-in-the-new-york/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [“The fact is that the estimate of fatalities, in terms of what was calculable at that time—even before the discovery of nuclear winter—was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/the-fact-is-that-the-estimate-of-fatalities-in-terms-of-what-was/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [It is a tribute to the American people that our leaders perceived that they had to lie to us, it is not a tribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/it-is-a-tribute-to-the-american-people-that-our-leaders-perceived/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [“Khrushchev told Norman Cousins, a few months after the crisis, his reaction at the time: When I asked the military advisors if they could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/khrushchev-told-norman-cousins-a-few-months-after-the-crisis-his/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [I agree that there are things that should be kept secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/i-agree-that-there-are-things-that-should-be-kept-secret/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [“Dwight Eisenhower had secretly endorsed the blueprints of this multi-genocide machine. He had furthermore demanded, largely for budgetary reasons, that there be no other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/dwight-eisenhower-had-secretly-endorsed-the-blueprints-of-this-multi/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [My feelings of revulsion and foreboding about nuclear weapons had not changed an iota since 1945, and they have never left me. Since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/my-feelings-of-revulsion-and-foreboding-about-nuclear-weapons-had-not/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [We need the courage to face the truth about what we are doing in the world and act responsibly to change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/we-need-the-courage-to-face-the-truth-about-what-we-are-doing-in-the/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [It is urgent to prevent new U.S. aggression. 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