Collateral damage Quote by Mohsin Hamid
““A common strand appeared to unite these conflicts, and that was the advancement of a small coterie’s concept of American interests in the guise of the fight against terrorism, which was defined to refer only to the organized and politically motivated killing of civilians by killers not wearing the uniforms of soldiers. I recognized that if this was to be the single most important priority of our species, then the lives of those of us who lived in lands in which such killers also lived had no meaning except as collateral damage. This, I reasoned, was why America felt justified in bringing so many deaths to Afghanistan and Iraq, and why America felt justified in risking so many more deaths by tacitly using India to pressure Pakistan.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Public Lecture, 2015, on US foreign policy
The quote argues that the US uses anti‑terrorism rhetoric to justify wars that cause massive civilian casualties, treating those lives as collateral while pursuing strategic interests.
In simple terms: War is justified by labeling civilians as collateral damage.
Key Takeaway
Question the moral cost of security policies.
Themes
ethics
war
politics
human rights
foreign policy
Mood
critical
concerned
reflective
Type
analytical
political
When to use this quote
- policy analysis
- humanitarian advocacy
- academic debate
- media commentary
- public protest
Key Concepts
realism
just war theory
imperialism
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we balance security with human dignity?
- What alternatives exist to military intervention?
A Different Perspective
It overlooks the complexity of security threats and the agency of local actors.
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