--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We wanted this war and now we've got it…" description: "\"We wanted this war and now we've got it, and I'm not sure that we know what to do with it.\" — Michael Ignatieff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/michael-ignatieff-3146_got_we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it_861388.jpg" --- # We wanted this war and now we've got it, and I'm not sure… ![“We wanted this war and now we've got it, and I'm not sure that we know what to do with it.” quote by Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/michael-ignatieff-3146_got_we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it_861388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/michael-ignatieff-3146_got_we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it_861388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/michael-ignatieff-3146_got_we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it_861388.jpg) > “We wanted this war and now we've got it, and I'm not sure that we know what to do with it.” [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. The speaker reflects on the unintended consequences of a conflict and uncertainty about handling its aftermath. **In simple terms:** We caused a war and now we’re unsure how to manage it. Key Takeaway Recognize responsibility and seek solutions. Themes conflict responsibility uncertainty Mood reflective concerned Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - peace negotiations - public discourse - humanitarian aid Key Concepts political ethics crisis management Questions to Reflect On - What steps can we take to address the fallout? - Who should lead the response? 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Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) Browse all 6,932 Got quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We wanted this war and now we've got it, and I'm not sure that we know what to do with it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Ignatieff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it-and-i-m-not-sure-that-we-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Got" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it-and-i-m-not-sure-that-we-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/michael-ignatieff-3146_got_we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it_861388.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/michael-ignatieff-3146_got_we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it_861388.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/michael-ignatieff-3146_got_we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it_861388.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We wanted this war and now we've got it, and I'm not sure that we know what to do with it.” — Michael Ignatieff", "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": "Michael Ignatieff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We wanted this war and now...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it-and-i-m-not-sure-that-we-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/we-wanted-this-war-and-now-we-ve-got-it-and-i-m-not-sure-that-we-know/#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 } } ] } ```