--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I found it peculiar that those who wanted…" description: "\"I found it peculiar that those who wanted to take military action could - with 100 per cent certainty - know that the weapons existed and turn out to h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/hans-blix-15720_action_i-found-it-peculiar-that-those-who-wante_2790840.png" --- # I found it peculiar that those who wanted to take military… ![“I found it peculiar that those who wanted to take military action could - with 100 per cent certainty - know that the weapons existed and turn out to have zero knowledge of where they were.” quote by Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/hans-blix-15720_action_i-found-it-peculiar-that-those-who-wante_2790840.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/hans-blix-15720_action_i-found-it-peculiar-that-those-who-wante_2790840.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/hans-blix-15720_action_i-found-it-peculiar-that-those-who-wante_2790840.png) > “I found it peculiar that those who wanted to take military action could - with 100 per cent certainty - know that the weapons existed and turn out to have zero knowledge of where they were.” [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Decision‑makers can be certain of weapon existence yet ignorant of their locations, exposing gaps in knowledge and control. **In simple terms:** Knowing weapons exist but not where they are. Key Takeaway Improve transparency and intelligence on armaments. Themes security knowledge policy Mood concerned serious Type political analytical When to use this quote - defense planning - diplomacy - public safety Key Concepts international relations risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How can we bridge knowledge gaps? - What risks arise from such ignorance? A Different Perspective Certainty can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [If you are equally good at explaining any outcome, you have zero knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/if-you-are-equally-good-at-explaining-any-outcome-you-have-zero/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“You must not face it. Because it is a – certainty it has to be forgotten. 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We know everything about our weapons, but we know nothing about how to use a telephone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asne-seierstad/do-you-know-what-is-our-problem-we-know-everything-about-our-weapons/) [Asne Seierstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asne-seierstad/) > [I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. -Albert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-not-with-what-weapons-world-war-iii-will-be-fought-but-world-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-know-not-with-what-weapons-world-war-iii-will-be-fought-but-world/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I don't know what weapons will be used in World War III, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-don-t-know-what-weapons-will-be-used-in-world-war-iii-but-world-war/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Semi-automatic weapons are not just about gun control, they're about national security. You know that these weapons can shoot down airplanes, they can blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/semi-automatic-weapons-are-not-just-about-gun-control-they-re-about/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) ## More by Hans Blix > [But I would say if the Security Council is only relevant if it agrees with the United States, then we have come a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/but-i-would-say-if-the-security-council-is-only-relevant-if-it-agrees/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [If you take the biological weapons in the United States we still will have perhaps a single individual who was able to make anthrax,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/if-you-take-the-biological-weapons-in-the-united-states-we-still-will/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [The country is not a democratic state. Therefore we fear that they might carry a recorder in their pocket or there may be bugs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/the-country-is-not-a-democratic-state-therefore-we-fear-that-they/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [We have not found any smoking guns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/we-have-not-found-any-smoking-guns/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [Never humiliate anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/never-humiliate-anyone/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [Unlike South Africa, which decided on its own to eliminate its nuclear weapons and welcomed inspection as a means of creating confidence in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/unlike-south-africa-which-decided-on-its-own-to-eliminate-its-nuclear/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [It's true the Iraqis misbehaved and had no credibility but that doesn't necessarily mean that they were in the wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/it-s-true-the-iraqis-misbehaved-and-had-no-credibility-but-that-doesn/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [You never get quite down to the bottom of the barrel, but we are much higher than that at the present time. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/you-never-get-quite-down-to-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-but-we-are-much/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [The U.N. is much more than the case of Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/the-u-n-is-much-more-than-the-case-of-iraq/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [I have my detractors in Washington. There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media. Not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/i-have-my-detractors-in-washington-there-are-bastards-who-spread/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [To me the question of the environment is more ominous than that of peace and war...I'm more worried about global warming than I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/to-me-the-question-of-the-environment-is-more-ominous-than-that-of/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [What surprises me, what amazes me, is that it seems the military people were expecting to stumble on large quantities of gas, chemical weapons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/what-surprises-me-what-amazes-me-is-that-it-seems-the-military-people/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [On big issues like war in Iraq, but in many other issues they simply must be multilateral. There's no other way around. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/on-big-issues-like-war-in-iraq-but-in-many-other-issues-they-simply/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [It was to do with information management. The intention was to dramatise it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/it-was-to-do-with-information-management-the-intention-was-to/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [The Iraqis are not threatened by the Turks or by the Iranians or by the Saudis and they tell me that these are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/the-iraqis-are-not-threatened-by-the-turks-or-by-the-iranians-or-by/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) [Explore all 42 Hans Blix quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. 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