--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We who came here saw what was happening…" description: "\"We who came here saw what was happening. This was far more than a war in a faraway place. This was a moral imperative, a terrible vision of the future...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/paddy-ashdown-17120_dreams_we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening_1293981.jpg" --- # We who came here saw what was happening. This was far more… ![“We who came here saw what was happening. This was far more than a war in a faraway place. This was a moral imperative, a terrible vision of the future. Paddy Ashdown” quote by Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/paddy-ashdown-17120_dreams_we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening_1293981.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/paddy-ashdown-17120_dreams_we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening_1293981.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/paddy-ashdown-17120_dreams_we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening_1293981.jpg) > “We who came here saw what was happening. This was far more than a war in a faraway place. This was a moral imperative, a terrible vision of the future. Paddy Ashdown” [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. Observes that conflict abroad is a moral duty, urging proactive engagement to prevent future atrocities. **In simple terms:** War abroad demands moral response. Key Takeaway Act now to prevent future horrors. Themes morality war intervention future Mood urgent reflective Type political ethical When to use this quote - policy debates - humanitarian missions - public awareness campaigns Key Concepts ethical responsibility preventive action global security Questions to Reflect On - What criteria define a moral imperative to intervene? - How can we balance action with unintended consequences? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex geopolitics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [We who came here saw what was happening. This was far more than a war in a faraway place. 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-2/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [The way she brushes her hair back. She heard it all being said to her. Saw it all happening in her life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucky-dube/the-way-she-brushes-her-hair-back-she-heard-it-all-being-said-to-her/) [Lucky Dube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucky-dube/) > [“She saw it happening like stars going out, one by one. Her online friends dropping off and never returning. Everything was shutting down, going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-calhoun/she-saw-it-happening-like-stars-going-out-one-by-one-her-online/) [Kenneth Calhoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-calhoun/) > [People aren't stupid. They saw what was happening at the Cologne central station. A lawless space was created in the middle of a city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-schwarzer/people-aren-t-stupid-they-saw-what-was-happening-at-the-cologne/) [Alice Schwarzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-schwarzer/) > [Tell me what your vision of the future and I will tell you what you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-polak/tell-me-what-your-vision-of-the-future-and-i-will-tell-you-what-you/) Fred Polak > [“That night, cold and alone, Joseph had thought he'd found a portal into the past. But he'd been wrong. It was a vision of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/that-night-cold-and-alone-joseph-had-thought-he-d-found-a-portal-into/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [Delivering a vision for the future and real results is what Americans need; Donald Trump has failed on both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kim/delivering-a-vision-for-the-future-and-real-results-is-what-americans/) [Andy Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kim/) > [“And so it’s a subtle balance: 1.​You have a bold vision for the future pulling you forward. 2.​Yet . . . you’re happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishen-lakhiani/and-so-it-s-a-subtle-balance-1-you-have-a-bold-vision-for-the-future/) [Vishen Lakhiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishen-lakhiani/) > [We have a positive vision of the future founded on the belief that the gap between the promise and reality of America can one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/we-have-a-positive-vision-of-the-future-founded-on-the-belief-that/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [When a man loses his vision of the future he dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/when-a-man-loses-his-vision-of-the-future-he-dies/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [The more attached we are to a vision of the future, the less present we are to what is actually trying to emerge here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-merry/the-more-attached-we-are-to-a-vision-of-the-future-the-less-present/) Peter Merry > [What is key for winning the election is to be able to put forth a vision for our future and how this election affects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/what-is-key-for-winning-the-election-is-to-be-able-to-put-forth-a/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [“Your vision not only becomes the future place you desire to live, but it becomes a foundation for your life’s decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mininni/your-vision-not-only-becomes-the-future-place-you-desire-to-live-but/) [Lisa Mininni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mininni/) > [“My vision of the future is so exact that if I had children, I should strangle them here and now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/my-vision-of-the-future-is-so-exact-that-if-i-had-children-i-should/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [You don't change the world by hiding in the woods, wearing a hair shirt, or buying indulgences in the form of 'Save the Earth'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/you-don-t-change-the-world-by-hiding-in-the-woods-wearing-a-hair/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) ## 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 am here because I think it was a terrible sin of the west to allow those years of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-here-because-i-think-it-was-a-terrible-sin-of-the-west-to-allow/) [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. I'm goal-driven; my job is to get results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/it-s-not-my-job-to-be-popular-i-m-goal-driven-my-job-is-to-get-results/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [I was told there would be riots in the streets, but there were no riots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-was-told-there-would-be-riots-in-the-streets-but-there-were-no-riots/) [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 Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We who came here saw what was happening. This was far more than a war in a faraway place. This was a moral imperative, a terrible vision of the future. Paddy Ashdown", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paddy Ashdown" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening-this-was-far-more-than-a-war/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening-this-was-far-more-than-a-war/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/paddy-ashdown-17120_dreams_we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening_1293981.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/paddy-ashdown-17120_dreams_we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening_1293981.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/paddy-ashdown-17120_dreams_we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening_1293981.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We who came here saw what was happening. This was far more than a war in a faraway place. This was a moral…” — Paddy Ashdown", "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": "Paddy Ashdown", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We who came here saw what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening-this-was-far-more-than-a-war/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening-this-was-far-more-than-a-war/#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 } } ] } ```