--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in…" description: "\"To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils: indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/michael-ignatieff-3146_assassination_to-defeat-evil-we-may-have-to-traffic-in_2934473.jpg" --- # To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils… ![“To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils: indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive war.” quote by Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/michael-ignatieff-3146_assassination_to-defeat-evil-we-may-have-to-traffic-in_2934473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/michael-ignatieff-3146_assassination_to-defeat-evil-we-may-have-to-traffic-in_2934473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/michael-ignatieff-3146_assassination_to-defeat-evil-we-may-have-to-traffic-in_2934473.jpg) > “To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils: indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive war.” [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Combating evil may require morally dubious tactics like detention, interrogation, assassination, or pre‑emptive war. **In simple terms:** Fighting evil can involve evil means. Key Takeaway Weigh moral costs of security. Themes ethics security politics Mood critical serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy making - military planning - legal debate Key Concepts moral compromise counterterrorism tactics Questions to Reflect On - When is force justified? - What alternatives exist? A Different Perspective Such tactics can erode moral authority. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assassination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) [Coercive Interrogations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercive-interrogations-4343024/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Defeat Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat-evil-923499/) [Detention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detention/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evils/) [Evils Indefinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evils-indefinite-4343025/) [Interrogation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interrogation/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Suspects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspects/) [Traffic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traffic/) [Traffic Evils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traffic-evils-4343026/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The actions we took in the aftermath of 9/11 were harsh but necessary and effective. 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Rodriguez, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-a-rodriguez-jr/) > [There must be no abuse of people and they did ask that the South Africa Government should give them whatever support they needed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/there-must-be-no-abuse-of-people-and-they-did-ask-that-the-south/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [We don't defeat evil by becoming evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clooney/we-don-t-defeat-evil-by-becoming-evil/) [Nick Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clooney/) > [It is mercy, not justice or courage or even heroism, that alone can defeat evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/it-is-mercy-not-justice-or-courage-or-even-heroism-that-alone-can/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [There is very much in the world that is bad. But usually the attempt to defeat evil engenders more evil. 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Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) > [Apart altogether from our own vital interests, we cannot and must not desert those other nations who have already gone through so much tragedy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stafford-cripps/apart-altogether-from-our-own-vital-interests-we-cannot-and-must-not/) [Stafford Cripps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stafford-cripps/) > [I challenge anyone to tell me that there isn’t evil in this world. From the days of Cain and Abel we know all too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taya-kyle/i-challenge-anyone-to-tell-me-that-there-isn-t-evil-in-this-world/) [Taya Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taya-kyle/) > [I've learned that everytime I sliced there is always a two sides... Meaning God created everything in balance.. 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Then I went to prison at the age of 17, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bez/i-went-to-live-with-my-grandparents-when-my-parents-threw-me-out-then/) [Bez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bez/) > [Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. Arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination hurt the human dignity of anybody, whatever his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/contrary-to-what-certain-governments-say-human-rights-are-universal/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## More by Michael Ignatieff > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [What really matters is getting new people in. The constitutional changes matter, but the thing that the party mustn't do is turn in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/what-really-matters-is-getting-new-people-in-the-constitutional/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [The medium's gaze is brief, intense, and promiscuous. The shelf life of the moral causes it makes its own is brutally short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-medium-s-gaze-is-brief-intense-and-promiscuous-the-shelf-life-of/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. 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Harry Truman wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/some-of-our-finest-leaders-were-not-intellectuals-at-all-and-i-admire/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [If you get the access to see history happen, do you understand the history when it does happen? And the answer to that question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/if-you-get-the-access-to-see-history-happen-do-you-understand-the/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [I have been a journalist, off and on, since I was 17. 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Brother Sim is precise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/assassination-is-murder-with-a-touch-more-precision-brother-sim-is/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In modern day academia, secretly assassinating your peers is not necessarily performed the same way it was in king Tarquins day. The growth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-spacey/in-modern-day-academia-secretly-assassinating-your-peers-is-not/) [Simon Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-spacey/) > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. 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