--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I am asked what we are fighting for, I…" description: "\"If I am asked what we are fighting for, I can reply in two sentences. In the first place, to fulfil a solemn international obligation . . . an obligati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/h-h-asquith-38790_arbitrary_if-i-am-asked-what-we-are-fighting-for-i_628546.jpg" --- # If I am asked what we are fighting for, I can reply in two… ![“If I am asked what we are fighting for, I can reply in two sentences. In the first place, to fulfil a solemn international obligation . . . an obligation of honor which no self-respecting man could possibly have repudiated. I say, secondly, we are fighting to vindicate the principle that small…” quote by H. H. Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/h-h-asquith-38790_arbitrary_if-i-am-asked-what-we-are-fighting-for-i_628546.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/h-h-asquith-38790_arbitrary_if-i-am-asked-what-we-are-fighting-for-i_628546.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/h-h-asquith-38790_arbitrary_if-i-am-asked-what-we-are-fighting-for-i_628546.jpg) > “If I am asked what we are fighting for, I can reply in two sentences. In the first place, to fulfil a solemn international obligation . . . an obligation of honor which no self-respecting man could possibly have repudiated. I say, secondly, we are fighting to vindicate the principle that small nationalities are not to be crushed in defiance of international good faith at the arbitrary will of a strong and overmastering Power.” [H. H. Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-h-asquith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War fights to honor obligations and protect small nations from oppression. **In simple terms:** War aims to uphold honor and protect the weak. Key Takeaway Defend honor and protect the vulnerable. Themes honor justice sovereignty Mood serious reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - diplomacy - humanitarian aid - legal advocacy - peace negotiations Key Concepts international law human rights Questions to Reflect On - Is war ever justified? - How can small nations be protected without conflict? A Different Perspective War causes immense suffering and may not achieve goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defiance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defiance/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Good faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-faith/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Solemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemn/) ## Related quotes > [We are fighting to vindicate the principle that small nationalities are not to be crushed in defiance of international good faith at the arbitrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-h-asquith/we-are-fighting-to-vindicate-the-principle-that-small-nationalities/) [H. H. Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-h-asquith/) > [It is the foremost responsibility of the United States, having been the predominant nuclear power, to take the lead in scaling this back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lee-butler/it-is-the-foremost-responsibility-of-the-united-states-having-been/) [George Lee Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lee-butler/) > [I fully believe that the U.S. has the obligation to honor its debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mnuchin/i-fully-believe-that-the-u-s-has-the-obligation-to-honor-its-debt/) [Steve Mnuchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mnuchin/) > [Just as a person is commanded to honor and revere his father, so he is under an obligation to honor and revere his teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/just-as-a-person-is-commanded-to-honor-and-revere-his-father-so-he-is/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Morality rests upon a sense of obligation; and obligation has no meaning except as implying a Divine command, without which it would cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/morality-rests-upon-a-sense-of-obligation-and-obligation-has-no/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [I read out of obligation the obligation of questioning incomplete truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/i-read-out-of-obligation-the-obligation-of-questioning-incomplete/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [I am sustained by a sense of the worthwhileness of what I am doing; a trust in the good faith of the process which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/i-am-sustained-by-a-sense-of-the-worthwhileness-of-what-i-am-doing-a/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Surveillance legislation passed in good faith has been stretched well beyond its original purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-grieve/surveillance-legislation-passed-in-good-faith-has-been-stretched-well/) [Dominic Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-grieve/) > [The experience of treaties being broken with impunity provide an afflicting lesson to mankind how little dependence is to be placed on treaties which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-experience-of-treaties-being-broken-with-impunity-provide-an/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Once let good faith be abandoned, and all social existence would perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/once-let-good-faith-be-abandoned-and-all-social-existence-would-perish/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [When we try in good faith to believe in materialism, in the exclusive reality of the physical, we are asking our selves to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/when-we-try-in-good-faith-to-believe-in-materialism-in-the-exclusive/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Perhaps, if I use my reason in good faith, I may suceed in discovering some ray of probability to lighten me in the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/perhaps-if-i-use-my-reason-in-good-faith-i-may-suceed-in-discovering/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Different people, in good faith, can look at the same fact and interpret it differently. But that's where an interesting conversation begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/different-people-in-good-faith-can-look-at-the-same-fact-and/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [Gold has at all times been considered the best of testimonies of good faith...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-sabatini/gold-has-at-all-times-been-considered-the-best-of-testimonies-of-good/) [Rafael Sabatini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-sabatini/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) ## More by H. H. 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