A weak people and its equally debilitated leaders are bludgeoned by history. It maims them into the cripples that they are meant to be.
After 9/11, the U.S. seemed vulnerable for the first time in a long time. We were no longer the superpower that no other country could touch. I thought, 'When and how did that dominance begin?'
We've been a country that's been fortunate to be protected by two oceans, to not have serious attacks on our territory for most of our history. And we were unfortunately reminded in a very devastating way of our vulnerability.
The chiefs of Fiji have relevance for all our citizens not just the Fijians, they still represent stability, order and continuity. If the chiefs were diminished, the entire nation would be weakened and be vulnerable.
… a rich nation always defends itself badly.
The most powerful State in the world, which up to now was relatively protected from terrorist violence, is no longer an inviolable sanctuary.
It turned out that the country was helpless in the face of a new reality.
Only Americans can hurt America.
A broke nation is a weak nation.
Nobody should ever mistake and think that our country [USA] is weakened, or that authority is diffuse and unspecified, and that we are vulnerable.
