--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is not a great sense that the…" description: "\"There is not a great sense that the Americans know what they are doing, or are making much progress in Iraq. And there is satisfaction in seeing that t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/928/walter-russell-mead-31750_iraq_there-is-not-a-great-sense-that-the-amer_1915117.jpg" --- # There is not a great sense that the Americans know what… ![“There is not a great sense that the Americans know what they are doing, or are making much progress in Iraq. And there is satisfaction in seeing that the Iraqis are successful in resisting the United States.” quote by Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/928/walter-russell-mead-31750_iraq_there-is-not-a-great-sense-that-the-amer_1915117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/928/walter-russell-mead-31750_iraq_there-is-not-a-great-sense-that-the-amer_1915117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/928/walter-russell-mead-31750_iraq_there-is-not-a-great-sense-that-the-amer_1915117.jpg) > “There is not a great sense that the Americans know what they are doing, or are making much progress in Iraq. And there is satisfaction in seeing that the Iraqis are successful in resisting the United States.” [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American confidence in Iraq policy is low, while Iraqi resistance shows resilience. **In simple terms:** U.S. doubts its Iraq strategy; Iraq pushes back. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of foreign interventions. Themes politics confidence resistance Mood cautious analytical Type analysis commentary When to use this quote - military planning - diplomacy - public opinion - media coverage Key Concepts realism national interest Questions to Reflect On - What drives Iraqi resistance? - How should policymakers respond to public skepticism? A Different Perspective U.S. actions may still influence outcomes despite doubts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) ## Related quotes > [On Jan. 30, millions of Iraqis will cast ballots in the country's first fair and free election in decades, marking continued progress in Iraq's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gerlach/on-jan-30-millions-of-iraqis-will-cast-ballots-in-the-country-s-first/) [Jim Gerlach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gerlach/) > [The progress in Iraq has not been without cost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-goode/the-progress-in-iraq-has-not-been-without-cost/) [Virgil Goode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-goode/) > [Wish we could, and allow the Taliban or anybody else to reclaim that country. But what we must do is some progress in Iraq,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/wish-we-could-and-allow-the-taliban-or-anybody-else-to-reclaim-that/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Progress in Iraq has always been about teams of people and teams of teams - and ultimately about young men and women, Iraqi as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-petraeus/progress-in-iraq-has-always-been-about-teams-of-people-and-teams-of/) [David Petraeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-petraeus/) > [US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and I have repeatedly sought to emphasize that the progress in Iraq is fragile and also, possibly, reversible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-petraeus/us-ambassador-to-iraq-ryan-crocker-and-i-have-repeatedly-sought-to/) [David Petraeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-petraeus/) > [There has, indeed, been very substantial progress in Iraq over the past year - violence is down by 80 percent, civilian deaths by about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-petraeus/there-has-indeed-been-very-substantial-progress-in-iraq-over-the-past/) [David Petraeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-petraeus/) > [In the post-9/11 world you cannot give him the benefit of the doubt. As a result of our going into Iraq, not only is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-post-9-11-world-you-cannot-give-him-the-benefit-of-the-doubt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The progress in Iraq is still fragile. And it could still be reversed. Iraq still faces innumerable challenges, and they will be evident during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-petraeus/the-progress-in-iraq-is-still-fragile-and-it-could-still-be-reversed/) [David Petraeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-petraeus/) > [I believe we're making really good progress in Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-believe-we-re-making-really-good-progress-in-iraq/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Tens of millions of Americans who neither know or understand the actual arguments for, or even against, evolution, march in the Army of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/tens-of-millions-of-americans-who-neither-know-or-understand-the/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask them, they look at you with a blank stare, or they respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/most-americans-do-not-know-what-their-strengths-are-when-you-ask-them/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [It's important for Americans to know what the guys fighting the wars have been experiencing, not just from the perspective of a talking-head politician…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-webb/it-s-important-for-americans-to-know-what-the-guys-fighting-the-wars/) [Brandon Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-webb/) > [Most Americans know we are in a mess, and as they look at Donald Trump, they believe he is the one leader who can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/most-americans-know-we-are-in-a-mess-and-as-they-look-at-donald-trump/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) > [The good news is, Americans know firsthand the benefits of a free market - more choices, lower prices, higher quality - and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shadegg/the-good-news-is-americans-know-firsthand-the-benefits-of-a-free/) [John Shadegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shadegg/) > [Few Americans know that their SS taxes are never segregated or saved by the federal gov, but rather spent immediately as general funds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/few-americans-know-that-their-ss-taxes-are-never-segregated-or-saved/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Walter Russell Mead > [What begins in arrogance often ends in shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/what-begins-in-arrogance-often-ends-in-shame/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [This very individualistic form of Protestant Christianity that became so basic in English and then American life is to a large degree responsible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/this-very-individualistic-form-of-protestant-christianity-that-became/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [The American people are extraordinarily comfortable, affluent, and secure. It's easy for us to make the argument that God's purpose is being fulfilled through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/the-american-people-are-extraordinarily-comfortable-affluent-and/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [Life isn't easy, and leadership is harder still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/life-isn-t-easy-and-leadership-is-harder-still/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [“The African villager with a solar powered smartphone has more access to more information than Louis XIV in the halls of Versailles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/the-african-villager-with-a-solar-powered-smartphone-has-more-access/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [Carter's hopes died when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and he ended up having to reverse policy and launch the military buildup that Reagan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/carter-s-hopes-died-when-the-soviet-union-invaded-afghanistan-and-he/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [“Saying that Jesus was a moral teacher is like calling Winston Churchill a landscape painter; both statements are true (and Jesus was a much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/saying-that-jesus-was-a-moral-teacher-is-like-calling-winston/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [When Edward Gibbon was writing about the fall of the Roman Empire in the late 18th century, he could argue that transportation hadn't changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/when-edward-gibbon-was-writing-about-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-in/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [We Americans look at the last 300 years of history, and we basically see a world that's getting better and better. The rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/we-americans-look-at-the-last-300-years-of-history-and-we-basically/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [Unlike some, I don't claim to hold the mystic key to the future. But judging from past events, it seems to me that those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/unlike-some-i-don-t-claim-to-hold-the-mystic-key-to-the-future-but/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [Mr. Obama's approach to engagement to some degree makes him dependent on people who wish neither him nor America well. This doesn't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/mr-obama-s-approach-to-engagement-to-some-degree-makes-him-dependent/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [It is a kind of ego booster, the way Egypt's winning the 1973 war, in the first stages, was an uplift. But I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/it-is-a-kind-of-ego-booster-the-way-egypt-s-winning-the-1973-war-in/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [Jordan is the only Arab state that has provided citizenship to Palestinian refugees and integrated them. But something has to be done about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/jordan-is-the-only-arab-state-that-has-provided-citizenship-to/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [The Arab states don't seem to do a good job of providing for their own people, so I am not sure why they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/the-arab-states-don-t-seem-to-do-a-good-job-of-providing-for-their/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) > [The historian assesses that the investment of the wealthy classes in the Bank of England wedded them to the fate of the nation as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/the-historian-assesses-that-the-investment-of-the-wealthy-classes-in/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) [Explore all 16 Walter Russell Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) ## More Iraq 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/) > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [In the Green Zone in Iraq you have your radio, you have your food, you have your own electricity, your own toilets. Everything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-the-green-zone-in-iraq-you-have-your-radio-you-have-your-food-you/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [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/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [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/) > [“Here you can shoot the bad guys,' a mercenary says in Baghdad. 'In America we give them corporate bonuses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-robotham/here-you-can-shoot-the-bad-guys-a-mercenary-says-in-baghdad-in/) [Michael Robotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-robotham/) > [I believe Saddam Hussein's strategic objective was, and remains, to assert dominance over the Gulf region.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-berger/i-believe-saddam-hussein-s-strategic-objective-was-and-remains-to/) [Sandy Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-berger/) > [In the lead up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility, at worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-zinni/in-the-lead-up-to-the-iraq-war-and-its-later-conduct-i-saw-at-a/) [Anthony Zinni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-zinni/) > [There aren't traditions of freedom in a place like Iraq. They're going to have to come to grips with a concept that they hadn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-wallop/there-aren-t-traditions-of-freedom-in-a-place-like-iraq-they-re-going/) [Malcolm Wallop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-wallop/) > [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The U.S. cannot impose freedom, security, and unity in Iraq by force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-defazio/the-u-s-cannot-impose-freedom-security-and-unity-in-iraq-by-force/) [Peter DeFazio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-defazio/) > [While not widely reported, our victories in Iraq are plentiful. National elections, a democratic parliament and the drafting of a constitution are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/while-not-widely-reported-our-victories-in-iraq-are-plentiful/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) > [The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-tyrant-has-fallen-and-iraq-is-free/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) [Browse all 2,606 Iraq quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is not a great sense that the Americans know what they are doing, or are making much progress in Iraq. 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