--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My journalistic mission was…" description: "\"My journalistic mission was straightforward: to await the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Nobody knew quite when this would be. But the diplomacy - the meetings..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/luke-harding-17213_about_my-journalistic-mission-was-straightforw_1561872.jpg" --- # My journalistic mission was straightforward: to await the… ![“My journalistic mission was straightforward: to await the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Nobody knew quite when this would be. But the diplomacy - the meetings in the U.N. security council, the allegations about weapons of mass destruction, the martial language of Tony Blair and George W. Bush - all…” quote by Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/luke-harding-17213_about_my-journalistic-mission-was-straightforw_1561872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/luke-harding-17213_about_my-journalistic-mission-was-straightforw_1561872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/luke-harding-17213_about_my-journalistic-mission-was-straightforw_1561872.jpg) > “My journalistic mission was straightforward: to await the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Nobody knew quite when this would be. But the diplomacy - the meetings in the U.N. security council, the allegations about weapons of mass destruction, the martial language of Tony Blair and George W. Bush - all suggested a war was brewing.” [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a journalist's anticipation of U.S. invasion, highlighting uncertainty and political rhetoric preceding war. **In simple terms:** Journalist waited for signs of war amid political talk. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant to political cues before conflict. Themes journalism politics war media anticipation Mood analytical critical Type political journalistic When to use this quote - newsrooms - policy analysis - public discourse - war reporting Key Concepts propaganda geopolitics information flow Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate impending conflict? - How does media framing affect public perception? A Different Perspective Predictions can be wrong; events may shift unexpectedly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Diplomacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomacy/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Invasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invasion/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Mission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mission/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Security council](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security-council/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) [Weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons-of-mass-destruction/) ## Related quotes > [The invasion of Iraq was simply a war crime. Straight-out war crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-invasion-of-iraq-was-simply-a-war-crime-straight-out-war-crime/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The invasion of Iraq was illegal from the start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/the-invasion-of-iraq-was-illegal-from-the-start/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [One year after the United States led the invasion of Iraq, the country remains extremely dangerous not only to our troops, but also to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-rockefeller/one-year-after-the-united-states-led-the-invasion-of-iraq-the-country/) [Jay Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-rockefeller/) > [The disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-disastrous-invasion-of-iraq-something-that-i-strongly-opposed-has/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [ When something like this \[2003 invasion of Iraq\] takes place, the international law professionals have a complicated task. There is a fringe that just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/when-something-like-this-2003-invasion-of-iraq-takes-place-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The invasion of Iraq will surely go down in history as one of the most cowardly wars ever fought. It was a war in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-invasion-of-iraq-will-surely-go-down-in-history-as-one-of-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [As hideous and dumb as it sounds, I wouldn't be at all surprised by an invasion of Iraq on September II. I'll take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/as-hideous-and-dumb-as-it-sounds-i-wouldn-t-be-at-all-surprised-by-an/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [The world protested our invasion of Iraq, but the people of America were never made aware of that - through the censorship that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/the-world-protested-our-invasion-of-iraq-but-the-people-of-america/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [I wrote a letter to our Australian newspaper about three weeks before the invasion and I said, "Osama bin Laden must be on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/i-wrote-a-letter-to-our-australian-newspaper-about-three-weeks-before/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) > [The invasion of Iraq was, in ways that have since become hard to dispute, a terrible mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/the-invasion-of-iraq-was-in-ways-that-have-since-become-hard-to/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [The Second World War is and was constantly being drudged up by Blair and Bush to rationalize the invasion of Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/the-second-world-war-is-and-was-constantly-being-drudged-up-by-blair/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [I thought then, and I think now, that the invasion of Iraq was unnecessary and unjust. And I think the premises on which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-thought-then-and-i-think-now-that-the-invasion-of-iraq-was/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I know it is said repeatedly that I was in support of the American invasion in Iraq. It is simply not true. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lewis/i-know-it-is-said-repeatedly-that-i-was-in-support-of-the-american/) [Bernard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lewis/) > [Sadly, a U.S. invasion of Iraq 'would threaten the whole stability of the Middle East' - or so Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/sadly-a-u-s-invasion-of-iraq-would-threaten-the-whole-stability-of/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [I wouldn't be at all surprised, as hideous and dumb as it sounds, at an invasion of Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/i-wouldn-t-be-at-all-surprised-as-hideous-and-dumb-as-it-sounds-at-an/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More by Luke Harding > [When I first began visiting West Germany in the early 1980s, I was startled by the contrast between Birmingham, where I went to school,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/when-i-first-began-visiting-west-germany-in-the-early-1980s-i-was/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [“Comey had turned away from his upbringing and embraced various kinds of evangelism. He wrote his thesis on how the evangelist teacher Jerry Falwell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/comey-had-turned-away-from-his-upbringing-and-embraced-various-kinds/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [Under the Assads, Kurds were forbidden from learning their own language at school, or even from speaking it in the military. The result is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/under-the-assads-kurds-were-forbidden-from-learning-their-own/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [“The oversight mechanism in the US may have been broken, but in Russia it didn’t exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/the-oversight-mechanism-in-the-us-may-have-been-broken-but-in-russia/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [Strict shopping laws mean that most German shops close on Saturday afternoons, reopening only on Monday when everybody is back at work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/strict-shopping-laws-mean-that-most-german-shops-close-on-saturday/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [“Given Germany’s totalitarian backstory – the Nazis then communists – it was hardly surprising that Snowden’s revelations caused outrage. In fact, a newish noun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/given-germany-s-totalitarian-backstory-the-nazis-then-communists-it/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [“Snowden was horrified to discover that behind bars he would have no access to a computer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/snowden-was-horrified-to-discover-that-behind-bars-he-would-have-no/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [“The US’s main clandestine objective in Mexico was to keep tabs on the country’s drug cartels. A”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/the-us-s-main-clandestine-objective-in-mexico-was-to-keep-tabs-on-the/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [On 30 June 2010, the FSB broke into my office again. They unplugged the Internet, opened the window and left the phone off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/on-30-june-2010-the-fsb-broke-into-my-office-again-they-unplugged-the/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [There is a long dishonourable tradition of western intellectuals who have been duped by Moscow. The list includes Bernard Shaw, the Webbs, H. G.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/there-is-a-long-dishonourable-tradition-of-western-intellectuals-who/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [Germany's hierarchical reverence for seniority may have something to do with the fact that everything here happens relatively late. 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Assange was often quick to criticise the US and other western nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/snowden-s-itinerary-does-however-seem-to-bear-the-fingerprints-of/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) > [“the easy bit – passing the material to sympathetic journalists – was proving tricky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-harding/the-easy-bit-passing-the-material-to-sympathetic-journalists-was/) [Luke Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) [Explore all 37 Luke Harding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-harding/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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