--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There has been sort of, if you will, a…" description: "\"There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our own image. Now, we had..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/pat-buchanan-2005_afghanistan_there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-mor_28431.jpg" --- # There has been sort of, if you will, a moral… ![“There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our own image. Now, we had to go into Afghanistan. We didn't have to go into Iraq. But the idea that you could create a Vermont in the Middle East like that was naive from…” quote by Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/pat-buchanan-2005_afghanistan_there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-mor_28431.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/pat-buchanan-2005_afghanistan_there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-mor_28431.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/pat-buchanan-2005_afghanistan_there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-mor_28431.jpg) > “There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our own image. Now, we had to go into Afghanistan. We didn't have to go into Iraq. But the idea that you could create a Vermont in the Middle East like that was naive from the beginning.” [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) ## 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 critiques U.S. foreign policy as an overconfident moral crusade that attempts to impose American values abroad, leading to misguided interventions. **In simple terms:** U.S. moral interventionism is naive. Key Takeaway Overreach in foreign policy. Themes imperialism naiveté foreign policy moralism geopolitics Mood skeptical critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy‑making debates - military strategy reviews - academic courses on international relations - media analysis of wars Key Concepts interventionism nation‑building cultural imposition Practical Applications - critical essays on U.S. interventions - policy‑reform proposals Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports the claim of naiveté? - How might alternative strategies have changed outcomes? A Different Perspective Some argue that limited interventions can prevent greater humanitarian crises, though outcomes remain contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Interventionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interventionism/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Middle east](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-east/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Vermont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vermont/) ## Related quotes > [The people who died in the Twin Towers in that terrible crime mattered. The people who were bombed to death in dusty villages in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pilger/the-people-who-died-in-the-twin-towers-in-that-terrible-crime/) [John Pilger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pilger/) > [ They \[people of Afghanistan\] didn't want Al-Qaeda in their country. They didn't appreciate the Taliban taking control. But they really have an incredible amount… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/they-people-of-afghanistan-didn-t-want-al-qaeda-in-their-country-they/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [We need only take our heads out of the sand to see clearly that interventionism not only has failed to provide the promised something-for-nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/we-need-only-take-our-heads-out-of-the-sand-to-see-clearly-that/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [There is nothing new in state interventionism. It is as old and reactionary as societal organization itself. Always, when it permeates the body politic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spruille-braden/there-is-nothing-new-in-state-interventionism-it-is-as-old-and/) Spruille Braden > [Interventionism is inextricable from the American idea. If the United States retreats into isolationism, it ceases to be itself ? a nation dedicated, however…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-cohen/interventionism-is-inextricable-from-the-american-idea-if-the-united/) [Roger Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-cohen/) > [Such terms as communism, socialism, Fabianism, the welfare state, Nazism, fascism, state interventionism, egalitarianism, the planned economy, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/such-terms-as-communism-socialism-fabianism-the-welfare-state-nazism/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“For the same reason a disease cannot be cured by more of the germ that caused it, the inflation and debt accumulation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/for-the-same-reason-a-disease-cannot-be-cured-by-more-of-the-germ/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is the political change in international relations as well as a change in superpower fortunes which indicate that the days of successful unilateral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-connaughton/it-is-the-political-change-in-international-relations-as-well-as-a/) Richard Connaughton > [Socialism and interventionism. Both have in common the goal of subordinating the individual unconditionally to the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/socialism-and-interventionism-both-have-in-common-the-goal-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [There is no such thing as a just and fair method of exercising the tremendous power that interventionism puts into the hands of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-just-and-fair-method-of-exercising-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [What precisely is this disease that causes inflation and all these other troubles? It has many popular names, such as socialism, communism, state interventionism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/what-precisely-is-this-disease-that-causes-inflation-and-all-these/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [The habit of ubiquitous interventionism, combining pinprick strikes by precision weapons with pious invocations of high principle, would lead us into endless difficulties. Interventions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/the-habit-of-ubiquitous-interventionism-combining-pinprick-strikes-by/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Until the 1930s, the Constitution served as a major constraint on federal economic interventionism. The government's powers were understood to be just as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/until-the-1930s-the-constitution-served-as-a-major-constraint-on/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [The constant refrain that bringing our troops home would demonstrate a lack of support for them must be one of the most amazing distortions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-constant-refrain-that-bringing-our-troops-home-would-demonstrate/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [In the time just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when Perfidia opens, we were pre-psychologized. There were no concepts of identity, no politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/in-the-time-just-before-the-bombing-of-pearl-harbor-when-perfidia/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) ## More by Pat Buchanan > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [On the McLaughlin Report, August 26, 1990: 'There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the middle East, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/on-the-mclaughlin-report-august-26-1990-there-are-only-two-groups/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [While our bipartisan establishment worships diversity, Trump saw Middle America recoiling from the demographic change brought about by Third World invasions. And he promised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/while-our-bipartisan-establishment-worships-diversity-trump-saw/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Candidate Trump held out his hand to Vladimir Putin. He rejected further U.S. intervention in Syria other than to smash ISIS.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/candidate-trump-held-out-his-hand-to-vladimir-putin-he-rejected/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Our culture is superior. Our culture is superior because our religion is Christianity and that is the truth that makes men free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/our-culture-is-superior-our-culture-is-superior-because-our-religion/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I think Trump is a very interesting candidate in this sense: I think he has cross-party appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/i-think-trump-is-a-very-interesting-candidate-in-this-sense-i-think/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Stop exporting American jobs. Stop exporting American factories, and stop exporting American sovereignty and independence to global institutions like the World Trade Organization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/stop-exporting-american-jobs-stop-exporting-american-factories-and/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I think that in the minds of many, the press is being seen less and less as a neutral observer in the impeachment enterprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/i-think-that-in-the-minds-of-many-the-press-is-being-seen-less-and/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [By threatening war against Iran, Iraq and North Korea in his now-famous "Axis of Evil" address, the president painted himself into a corner. Either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/by-threatening-war-against-iran-iraq-and-north-korea-in-his-now/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I opposed NAFTA in 1993 and '94.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/i-opposed-nafta-in-1993-and-94/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [That a district judge would overrule the president of the United States on a matter of border security in wartime is absurd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/that-a-district-judge-would-overrule-the-president-of-the-united/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [ \[The courts and the media elite\] are abolishing America, they are deconstructing our country ... they have dethroned our God. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/the-courts-and-the-media-elite-are-abolishing-america-they-are/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Anti-Catholicism is the anti-Semitism of the intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/anti-catholicism-is-the-anti-semitism-of-the-intellectual/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Russia and China, which have embraced autocratic capitalism, have attracted admirers and emulators by the seeming success of their strongman rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/russia-and-china-which-have-embraced-autocratic-capitalism-have/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Our elite believe in a new trinity of equality, democracy and diversity. Indeed, after the Cold War, we declared the spread of democracy worldwide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/our-elite-believe-in-a-new-trinity-of-equality-democracy-and/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) [Explore all 192 Pat Buchanan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) ## More Afghanistan quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [According to a recent Harvard study, $6 trillion, when you include the ongoing healthcare expenses for our wounded soldiers, which is the least they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/according-to-a-recent-harvard-study-6-trillion-when-you-include-the/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [You don't bargain with terrorists. You don't appease terrorists. And anybody who believes that this is about something we've done has to ask themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/you-don-t-bargain-with-terrorists-you-don-t-appease-terrorists-and/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [“I stood with my mom in the cemetery. She felt terrible pain. My grandmother is with God. My mom has to continue living. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/i-stood-with-my-mom-in-the-cemetery-she-felt-terrible-pain-my/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/) [Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I have been to Afghanistan many times, even before the Taliban collapsed. I was fascinated by the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/i-have-been-to-afghanistan-many-times-even-before-the-taliban/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [The legal system in Afghanistan is very immature and porous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-legal-system-in-afghanistan-is-very-immature-and-porous/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [When did an old white guy yelling at me, telling me what to think become news? What gives him the right to tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ling/when-did-an-old-white-guy-yelling-at-me-telling-me-what-to-think/) [Lisa Ling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ling/) [Browse all 1,159 Afghanistan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our own image. Now, we had to go into Afghanistan. We didn't have to go into Iraq. 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