--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Under it all was quagmire." description: "\"“Under it all was quagmire.”\" — Henning Mankell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/henning-mankell-2068_quote_under-it-all-was-quagmire-1334883_1334883.jpg" --- # Under it all was quagmire. ![“Under it all was quagmire.” quote by Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/henning-mankell-2068_quote_under-it-all-was-quagmire-1334883_1334883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/henning-mankell-2068_quote_under-it-all-was-quagmire-1334883_1334883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/henning-mankell-2068_quote_under-it-all-was-quagmire-1334883_1334883.jpg) > ““Under it all was quagmire.”” [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A situation appears stable on the surface but is actually a complex, hidden problem. **In simple terms:** Hidden problems beneath a calm surface. Key Takeaway Investigate deeper before acting. Themes complexity hidden issues analysis Mood cautious analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - project planning - personal relationships - policy making Key Concepts systems thinking risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What hidden challenges might you be overlooking? - How can you uncover underlying issues? A Different Perspective Surface calm can mask deeper instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Quagmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quagmire/) ## Related quotes > [We are the most powerful nation on earth. No external power, no terrorist organization can defeat us. But we can defeat ourselves by getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/we-are-the-most-powerful-nation-on-earth-no-external-power-no/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Human knowledge is not (or does not follow) a straight line, but a curve, which endlessly approximates a series of circles, a spiral. Any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/human-knowledge-is-not-or-does-not-follow-a-straight-line-but-a-curve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This edition of The Making of a Quagmire differs in a number of ways from the original one. Approximately one-third of the text has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/this-edition-of-the-making-of-a-quagmire-differs-in-a-number-of-ways/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [The white people's thought is full of ignorance. They constantly devastate the land they live on and transform the waters they drink into quagmires!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davi-kopenawa-yanomami/the-white-people-s-thought-is-full-of-ignorance-they-constantly/) [Davi Kopenawa Yanomami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davi-kopenawa-yanomami/) > [Congratulations to Ohio State, your new college football champions. Coach Urban Meyer may be the greatest football coach of all time. Don't confuse him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/congratulations-to-ohio-state-your-new-college-football-champions/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [MSN became a quagmire, partly because of Microsoft's hubris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of-microsoft-s-hubris/) [Donald Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-clark/) > [“Most people ended up, after only a couple of months, far, far away from where they'd intended to go, stuck in some barbed underbrush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/most-people-ended-up-after-only-a-couple-of-months-far-far-away-from/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [I was born to fight devils and factions. It is my business to remove obstacles, to cut down thorns, to fill up quagmires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/i-was-born-to-fight-devils-and-factions-it-is-my-business-to-remove/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [At least 23,000 civilians have also died in the Iraqi killing field and the U.S. is stuck in a quagmire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-least-23-000-civilians-have-also-died-in-the-iraqi-killing-field/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Before and during the first phase of the war his administration repeatedly maligned the UN but now, that Iraq has turned into a quagmire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schuyler/before-and-during-the-first-phase-of-the-war-his-administration/) [Peter Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schuyler/) > [“When our mental functioning is whittling away and our mind becomes a lame duck, perception does not form the context anymore and all connections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-our-mental-functioning-is-whittling-away-and-our-mind-becomes-a/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Afghanistan would have been difficult enough without Iraq. Iraq made it impossible. The argument that had we just focused on Afghanistan we'd now be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/afghanistan-would-have-been-difficult-enough-without-iraq-iraq-made/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added. One can't help appreciate the streets of Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/the-brown-toxic-cloud-strangling-los-angeles-never-lifts-and-grows/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [No. That's someone else's business. Quagmire is - I don't do quagmires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/no-that-s-someone-else-s-business-quagmire-is-i-don-t-do-quagmires/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [There's so many people telling you what you should look like, what you shouldn't look like, what clothes you should be wearing, whether you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gurinder-chadha/there-s-so-many-people-telling-you-what-you-should-look-like-what-you/) [Gurinder Chadha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gurinder-chadha/) ## More by Henning Mankell > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“If a policeman is serious about his profession but says he has time, he lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/if-a-policeman-is-serious-about-his-profession-but-says-he-has-time/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“There is a silence in empty houses that is unique... People have left and taken all the noise with them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/there-is-a-silence-in-empty-houses-that-is-unique-people-have-left/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [My father thought, and now I think too, that the system of democracy is entirely based upon the system of justice. If we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/my-father-thought-and-now-i-think-too-that-the-system-of-democracy-is/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-still-have-a-photo-on-my-wall-of-the-greatest-idol-i-will-ever-have/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“The experience he'd gained during his years in the police force had given him this unambiguous answer: there are no murderers. Only ordinary people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/the-experience-he-d-gained-during-his-years-in-the-police-force-had/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [We used to send whole flocks of birds shooting out of our mouths and never managed to grab them by their wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/we-used-to-send-whole-flocks-of-birds-shooting-out-of-our-mouths-and/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [He was so excessively polite that Wallendar suspected he had endured many humiliations in his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/he-was-so-excessively-polite-that-wallendar-suspected-he-had-endured/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“This is what Sweden is - quiet people leaning over the newspapers and coffee cups, each one with his own thoughts and destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/this-is-what-sweden-is-quiet-people-leaning-over-the-newspapers-and/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Working with keys is always meaningful. Locking and opening is, in a sense, man's very purpose on this earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/working-with-keys-is-always-meaningful-locking-and-opening-is-in-a/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“La plupart des voyages dont on rêve n'ont jamais lieu. Ou alors on les accomplit intérieurement. L'avantage, quand on emprunte ces vols intérieurs, c'est…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/la-plupart-des-voyages-dont-on-r-ve-n-ont-jamais-lieu-ou-alors-on-les/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Our exile organizations have been our way of replacing the cities and villages we have lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/our-exile-organizations-have-been-our-way-of-replacing-the-cities-and/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [What annoys a person who suicides? The life itself. Boredom. Tiredness that descends on every morning when you look at yourself at the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/what-annoys-a-person-who-suicides-the-life-itself-boredom-tiredness/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Your memories will be a flock of birds, silently flying in the sky. You will see them flying in and see them flying away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/your-memories-will-be-a-flock-of-birds-silently-flying-in-the-sky-you/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“In the biological world children are the sole purpose. Nothing else matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/in-the-biological-world-children-are-the-sole-purpose-nothing-else/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Explore all 175 Henning Mankell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) ## More Quagmire quotes > [We are the most powerful nation on earth. No external power, no terrorist organization can defeat us. But we can defeat ourselves by getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/we-are-the-most-powerful-nation-on-earth-no-external-power-no/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [No. That's someone else's business. Quagmire is - I don't do quagmires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/no-that-s-someone-else-s-business-quagmire-is-i-don-t-do-quagmires/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added. One can't help appreciate the streets of Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/the-brown-toxic-cloud-strangling-los-angeles-never-lifts-and-grows/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [Afghanistan would have been difficult enough without Iraq. Iraq made it impossible. The argument that had we just focused on Afghanistan we'd now be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/afghanistan-would-have-been-difficult-enough-without-iraq-iraq-made/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [“When our mental functioning is whittling away and our mind becomes a lame duck, perception does not form the context anymore and all connections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-our-mental-functioning-is-whittling-away-and-our-mind-becomes-a/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Before and during the first phase of the war his administration repeatedly maligned the UN but now, that Iraq has turned into a quagmire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schuyler/before-and-during-the-first-phase-of-the-war-his-administration/) [Peter Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schuyler/) > [At least 23,000 civilians have also died in the Iraqi killing field and the U.S. is stuck in a quagmire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-least-23-000-civilians-have-also-died-in-the-iraqi-killing-field/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born to fight devils and factions. It is my business to remove obstacles, to cut down thorns, to fill up quagmires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/i-was-born-to-fight-devils-and-factions-it-is-my-business-to-remove/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“Most people ended up, after only a couple of months, far, far away from where they'd intended to go, stuck in some barbed underbrush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/most-people-ended-up-after-only-a-couple-of-months-far-far-away-from/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [MSN became a quagmire, partly because of Microsoft's hubris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of-microsoft-s-hubris/) [Donald Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-clark/) > [Congratulations to Ohio State, your new college football champions. Coach Urban Meyer may be the greatest football coach of all time. Don't confuse him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/congratulations-to-ohio-state-your-new-college-football-champions/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [The white people's thought is full of ignorance. They constantly devastate the land they live on and transform the waters they drink into quagmires!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davi-kopenawa-yanomami/the-white-people-s-thought-is-full-of-ignorance-they-constantly/) [Davi Kopenawa Yanomami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davi-kopenawa-yanomami/) > [“This edition of The Making of a Quagmire differs in a number of ways from the original one. Approximately one-third of the text has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/this-edition-of-the-making-of-a-quagmire-differs-in-a-number-of-ways/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [Human knowledge is not (or does not follow) a straight line, but a curve, which endlessly approximates a series of circles, a spiral. Any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/human-knowledge-is-not-or-does-not-follow-a-straight-line-but-a-curve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's so many people telling you what you should look like, what you shouldn't look like, what clothes you should be wearing, whether you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gurinder-chadha/there-s-so-many-people-telling-you-what-you-should-look-like-what-you/) [Gurinder Chadha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gurinder-chadha/) [Browse all 40 Quagmire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quagmire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Under it all was quagmire.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henning Mankell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/under-it-all-was-quagmire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Quagmire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/under-it-all-was-quagmire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/henning-mankell-2068_quote_under-it-all-was-quagmire-1334883_1334883.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/henning-mankell-2068_quote_under-it-all-was-quagmire-1334883_1334883.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/henning-mankell-2068_quote_under-it-all-was-quagmire-1334883_1334883.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Under it all was quagmire.” — Henning Mankell", "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": "Henning Mankell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Under it all was quagmire.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/under-it-all-was-quagmire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/under-it-all-was-quagmire/#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 } } ] } ```