---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: According to U.S. strategy, if you never…"
description: "\"According to U.S. strategy, if you never see the other, his destruction will be more acceptableso that when Iraqi soldiers surrendered, sooner than exp..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/serge-daney-45287_body_according-to-u-s-strategy-if-you-never-s_630287.jpg"
---

#  According to U.S. strategy, if you never see the other…

![“According to U.S. strategy, if you never see the other, his destruction will be more acceptableso that when Iraqi soldiers surrendered, sooner than expected, it was as if they emerged from a dream, a flash-back, a lost epoch--an epoch when the enemy still had a body and was still &quot;like us.” quote by Serge Daney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/serge-daney-45287_body_according-to-u-s-strategy-if-you-never-s_630287.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/serge-daney-45287_body_according-to-u-s-strategy-if-you-never-s_630287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/serge-daney-45287_body_according-to-u-s-strategy-if-you-never-s_630287.jpg)

> “According to U.S. strategy, if you never see the other, his destruction will be more acceptableso that when Iraqi soldiers surrendered, sooner than expected, it was as if they emerged from a dream, a flash-back, a lost epoch--an epoch when the enemy still had a body and was still "like us.”

[Serge Daney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-daney/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

War dehumanizes enemies, making them seem alien; yet when they appear similar, it challenges our moral distance.

**In simple terms:** Seeing enemies as human disrupts war logic.

Key Takeaway

Recognize shared humanity.

Themes

ethics war dehumanization

Mood

somber reflective

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- military training
- peace negotiations
- media reporting
- human rights advocacy

Key Concepts

enemy perception moral ambiguity

Questions to Reflect On

- How does seeing the enemy as human affect conflict?
- Can empathy coexist with defense?

A Different Perspective

Combat training often reinforces enemy othering.

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[Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Epoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epoch/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/)

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