--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am here because I think it was a…" description: "\"I am here because I think it was a terrible sin of the west to allow those years of war.\" — Paddy Ashdown" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/paddy-ashdown-17120_allow_i-am-here-because-i-think-it-was-a-terri_425080.png" --- # I am here because I think it was a terrible sin of the… ![“I am here because I think it was a terrible sin of the west to allow those years of war.” quote by Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/paddy-ashdown-17120_allow_i-am-here-because-i-think-it-was-a-terri_425080.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/paddy-ashdown-17120_allow_i-am-here-because-i-think-it-was-a-terri_425080.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/paddy-ashdown-17120_allow_i-am-here-because-i-think-it-was-a-terri_425080.png) > “I am here because I think it was a terrible sin of the west to allow those years of war.” [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflects on moral responsibility of Western nations during prolonged conflict. **In simple terms:** West's war involvement seen as sinful. Key Takeaway Consider ethical implications of foreign policy. Themes ethics war responsibility Mood reflective critical Type historical political When to use this quote - policy analysis - historical study - public debate Key Concepts moral accountability historical reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance moral judgments with strategic necessities? - What lessons can be drawn for future interventions? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex geopolitical factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Only after something is done do we truly realise it cannot be undone. 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If you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/we-ve-all-been-guilty-at-one-point-or-another-in-our-careers-of/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [What is it that renders death terrible? Sin. We must therefore fear sin, not death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-liguori/what-is-it-that-renders-death-terrible-sin-we-must-therefore-fear-sin/) [Alphonsus Liguori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-liguori/) > [“For every year of peace there have been four hundred years of war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/for-every-year-of-peace-there-have-been-four-hundred-years-of-war/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Perhaps wars weren't won anymore. Maybe they went on forever. 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It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hochschild/the-years-after-the-war-saw-the-growth-of-copper-gold-and-tin-mining/) [Adam Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hochschild/) > [“Hundred years war between England and France. The term ok comes from the tax collectors in England. They needed to know how many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lost-leblanc/hundred-years-war-between-england-and-france-the-term-ok-comes-from/) Lost LeBlanc > [“After ten years of war, I no longer believe in moments of peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/after-ten-years-of-war-i-no-longer-believe-in-moments-of-peace/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“the American Colonies. The Seven Years' War left England”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-roscoe-thayer/the-american-colonies-the-seven-years-war-left-england/) William Roscoe Thayer > [“In the Hundred Years’ War that dragged France and England through the 14th century, both sides would have liked to quit but could not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/in-the-hundred-years-war-that-dragged-france-and-england-through-the/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) ## More by Paddy Ashdown > [I am formally accountable to the steering board of the PIC, and I meet with nine ambassadors from the PIC every week. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-formally-accountable-to-the-steering-board-of-the-pic-and-i-meet/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [We have invented a new human right here - the right to return home after a war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-have-invented-a-new-human-right-here-the-right-to-return-home/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [It works both ways: there are victims of tragedy who come to me who have experienced grief of such magnitude that they cannot reconcile.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/it-works-both-ways-there-are-victims-of-tragedy-who-come-to-me-who/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do think it is ready for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconciliation-but-i-do-think-it-is/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [The multinational corporations now developing budgets often bigger than medium-sized countries — these live in a global space which is largely unregulated, not subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/the-multinational-corporations-now-developing-budgets-often-bigger/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Now we are intimately locked together. You get swine flu in Mexico; it’s a problem for Charles de Gaulle Airport 24 hours later. Lehman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/now-we-are-intimately-locked-together-you-get-swine-flu-in-mexico-it/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Politics is about putting yourself in a state of grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/politics-is-about-putting-yourself-in-a-state-of-grace/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [I can create institutions, but I can't rewrite the chips in people's heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-can-create-institutions-but-i-can-t-rewrite-the-chips-in-people-s/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [One of the great barriers to peace in the Middle East is that both sides, both Israel and the Palestinians, do not understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/one-of-the-great-barriers-to-peace-in-the-middle-east-is-that-both/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [It's not my job to be popular. 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This was a moral imperative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening-this-was-far-more-than-a-war/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [We have to make their livelihoods viable, get them the proper prices for their produce, try and make them stay rather than sell their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-have-to-make-their-livelihoods-viable-get-them-the-proper-prices/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [My second job has been to try to use my power to create institutions of a modern state that could enter the European Union,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/my-second-job-has-been-to-try-to-use-my-power-to-create-institutions/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Coalition will come sooner or later, I'm certain of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/coalition-will-come-sooner-or-later-i-m-certain-of-that/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) [Explore all 38 Paddy Ashdown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) ## More Allow quotes > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-huffington/while-we-welcome-people-of-all-faiths-in-america-we-cannot-be-so/) [Michael Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-huffington/) > [“Allow yourself some happiness, so that I can be a part of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-mahaffey/allow-yourself-some-happiness-so-that-i-can-be-a-part-of-it/) [Montgomery Mahaffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montgomery-mahaffey/) > [I've cosponsored legislation to establish a lend-lease program to simplify bureaucratic barriers and allow a speedier transfer of U.S. military equipment to Ukraine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/i-ve-cosponsored-legislation-to-establish-a-lend-lease-program-to/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [“Sometimes life doesn't allow us to be free to fly wherever we'd like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-johnson/sometimes-life-doesn-t-allow-us-to-be-free-to-fly-wherever-we-d-like/) [Elana Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-johnson/) > [I am that which I am, and I am willing to allow all others to be that which they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/i-am-that-which-i-am-and-i-am-willing-to-allow-all-others-to-be-that/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [By letting go, you allow everything to find it's rightful place. 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