"In places like Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq the lives of millions of young men have been warped and stunted by desperation, ignorance, streams of religious glory, the violence of their surroundings, or the schemes of older men. They were dangerous these young men, often deliberately and casually cruel. Still, in the aggregate, at least, I wanted somehow to save them, send them to school, give them a trade, drain them of the hate that had been filling their heads, and yet the world they were part of and the machinery I command more often had me killing them instead. I took no joy in any of this. It didn't make me feel powerful. I'd entered politics to help kids get a better education, to help families get health care, to help poor countries grow more food. It was that kind of power that I measured myself against. But the work was necessary and it was my responsibility to make sure our operations were as effective as possible."
-----Barack Obama, "A Promised Land"
Source: Katie Halper, Useful Idiots, June 4, 2021
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