--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never underestimate the ability of…" description: "\"Never underestimate the ability of political leaders to misread history on a monumental scale. The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have both served t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/martin-jacques-6623_ability_never-underestimate-the-ability-of-polit_1772789.png" --- # Never underestimate the ability of political leaders to… ![“Never underestimate the ability of political leaders to misread history on a monumental scale. The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have both served to hasten western decline: they have both failed to achieve their objectives and in the process demonstrated an underlying western impotence.” quote by Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/martin-jacques-6623_ability_never-underestimate-the-ability-of-polit_1772789.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/martin-jacques-6623_ability_never-underestimate-the-ability-of-polit_1772789.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/martin-jacques-6623_ability_never-underestimate-the-ability-of-polit_1772789.png) > “Never underestimate the ability of political leaders to misread history on a monumental scale. The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have both served to hasten western decline: they have both failed to achieve their objectives and in the process demonstrated an underlying western impotence.” [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaders often misinterpret history, leading to disastrous foreign policies that weaken a nation's influence. **In simple terms:** Misreading history harms policy. Key Takeaway Question historical lessons before acting. Themes politics history policy Mood critical reflective Type analytical cautionary When to use this quote - government decision‑making - military interventions - foreign policy planning Key Concepts imperialism strategic error decline Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can prevent historical misreading? - How can societies hold leaders accountable for policy failures? A Different Perspective History is complex; leaders may lack expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Achieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieve/) [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both/) [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Failed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failed/) [Hasten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hasten/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Impotence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impotence/) [Invasions Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invasions-iraq-1794498/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Iraq Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq-afghanistan/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaders/) [Leaders Misread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaders-misread-1794496/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Misread History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misread-history-1794497/) [Monumental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monumental/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Never underestimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-underestimate/) [Objectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectives/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-leader/) [Political leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-leaders/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Scale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scale/) [Served](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/served/) [Underestimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underestimate/) [Underlying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underlying/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [Western Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-decline-1794499/) ## Related quotes > [The inexorable compulsion of all things is towards health or destruction, life or death, and we hasten our joys or our woes to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/the-inexorable-compulsion-of-all-things-is-towards-health-or/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [“for I will hasten my word to perform it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-i-will-hasten-my-word-to-perform-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Family life is tough, I'll say that for it. 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [The visible things that have come from the group have been the Plan 9 system and Inferno, but I hasten to say that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-ritchie/the-visible-things-that-have-come-from-the-group-have-been-the-plan-9/) [Dennis Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-ritchie/) > [Death hastens those who hasten death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-slonczewski/death-hastens-those-who-hasten-death/) [Joan Slonczewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-slonczewski/) > [“Those who hasten to live are in a hurry to miss,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/those-who-hasten-to-live-are-in-a-hurry-to-miss/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [I hasten to laugh at everything, for fear of being obliged to weep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-beaumarchais/i-hasten-to-laugh-at-everything-for-fear-of-being-obliged-to-weep/) [Pierre Beaumarchais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-beaumarchais/) > [Two races share today the soil of Canada. These people had not always been friends. But I hasten to say it. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-laurier/two-races-share-today-the-soil-of-canada-these-people-had-not-always/) [Wilfrid Laurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-laurier/) > [“We can neither hurry nor hasten the works of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-can-neither-hurry-nor-hasten-the-works-of-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [So the English approach to show business and their work is more - and this is a big generalization, I hasten to say -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mcgovern/so-the-english-approach-to-show-business-and-their-work-is-more-and/) [Elizabeth McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mcgovern/) > [We have created indoor installations inside museums, like the Wrapped Floor at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago in 1968, and not monumental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christo/we-have-created-indoor-installations-inside-museums-like-the-wrapped/) [Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christo/) ## More by Martin Jacques > [There may be little practical difference between a Ford Mondeo and a BMW three series, but in terms of perceptions of who you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/there-may-be-little-practical-difference-between-a-ford-mondeo-and-a/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [No one likes to admit they are racist or bear prejudices. Nor do they even like to be open and honest when they witness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/no-one-likes-to-admit-they-are-racist-or-bear-prejudices-nor-do-they/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [If the truth be told, we are a society that is dripping in racism. This is not in the least surprising. For the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/if-the-truth-be-told-we-are-a-society-that-is-dripping-in-racism-this/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [In Formula One, the car can make a difference in a way that a driver cannot. Whereas Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna spent their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/in-formula-one-the-car-can-make-a-difference-in-a-way-that-a-driver/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11 and in the build-up to the invasion of Iraq, few questioned the idea that the United States was likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-and-in-the-build-up-to-the-invasion-of-iraq/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [At the heart of globalisation is a new kind of intolerance in the West towards other cultures, traditions and values, less brutal than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/at-the-heart-of-globalisation-is-a-new-kind-of-intolerance-in-the/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [Our leaders increasingly see fit to lecture the ethnic minorities on the need to integrate, including of course the need to speak English. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/our-leaders-increasingly-see-fit-to-lecture-the-ethnic-minorities-on/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [If one wanted to find a modern symbol of personal freedom, the motor car is right there near the top of the list. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/if-one-wanted-to-find-a-modern-symbol-of-personal-freedom-the-motor/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [Blair - except at the edges - was a Thatcherite. Brown, in contrast, regarded Thatcherism as something that had to be taken on board…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/blair-except-at-the-edges-was-a-thatcherite-brown-in-contrast/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [Western countries are thoroughly accustomed to being the centre of global attention, which they have come to regard as their natural birthright. 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In the event, it was reinvented as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/following-the-end-of-the-cold-war-there-was-much-discussion/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) [Explore all 98 Martin Jacques quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. 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