Only the dead have seen the end of war (Santayana, not Plato)

“There are some commentators and even some people within the defence establishment who raised the question: Why the hell not hit the nuclear military programme? A little bit more than a decade ago, I was probably the most hawkish person in Israeli leadership arguing that it was worth considering very seriously, because there was an actual capability to delay them by several years. That’s not the case right now, because Iran is a de facto threshold country. They do not have yet a weapon – it may take them a year to have one, and even half a decade to have a small arsenal. Practically speaking, you cannot easily delay them in any significant manner.” Ehud Barak on Wednesday. He is now 82.

"A nuclear-armed Iran would bring stability to the region." Professor John Mearsheimer

'Our job is to keep the Palestinians radicalized. Most of them would settle in a moment for peace, some deal that will let them get on with their lives. We need to keep them angry.' Saleh al-Arouri, a Hamas leader who took part in the 7 October 2023 atrocities and was killed in Lebanon by a drone in February, speaking in March 2007 to Bronwen Maddox.

"According to their conservative estimate, at least 118,908 people have been killed in Gaza through direct violence, starvation, and disease, and they say that the real death toll is almost certainly higher than that. This estimate represents a loss of life nearly three times greater than the current official count from Gaza’s Ministry of Health." Responsible Statecraft referring to the detailed appendix to a letter published two days ago by 99 American health workers who served in Gaza.

“I also want to thank your father, Vice President Dick Cheney, for his support and for what he has done to serve our country." Kamala Harris, at a rally with Liz Cheney on Thursday

'I mention a 2019 essay in which he called Donald Trump a good president and wonder if he will be cheering him on in this US election too. “Yes,” he says. “Trump won’t start wars,” he adds, topping up our glasses. What if he stops supporting Ukraine? “That’s good,” Houellebecq says. But Ukrainians want to liberate their territory, I say. “What do I care? At the start of the war, I was surprised because I thought Ukraine was Russian,” he says. “It’s better for nature to take its course,” he adds in the spirit of might is right. “People who have humanitarian ideas are a catastrophe. It doesn’t work and motivations are doubtful.”' Interview with Michel Houellebecq in The Financial Times, 13 September 2024