16 Alistair Horne Quotes for You to Enjoy

Alistair Horne

British Historian

Born: Nov 9, 1925

Died: May 25, 2017

Army Blame Congress History War World

Related authors: A. J. P. Taylor Antony Beevor Arnold J. Toynbee Arthur Helps C. Northcote Parkinson Linda Colley Norman Davies Simon Schama

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989, Reagan and Thatcher displayed Churchillian magnanimity towards Gorbachev's broken nation. Relations were never better. There was no triumphalism. Alistair Horne

Broken Better Nation Relations Collapsed Magnanimity Never Towards Gorbachev Reagan Were Soviet Thatcher Soviet Union Union Displayed

Over the past years, I have lectured many times on the Cuban missile crisis, most provocatively to 200 senior officers of the former Soviet army in Moscow in 1991, among them KGB generals. There, my knowledge of Penkovsky's role was thoroughly confirmed, and so was the Soviet military men's residual sense of humiliation at Khrushchev's 'blink'. Alistair Horne

Knowledge Army Humiliation Men Past Sense Military Thoroughly Crisis Generals Missile Over Moscow Most Cuban Cuban Missile Crisis Blink Years Times Role Officers Soviet Senior Confirmed Former Them Many Among Residual

Following 9/11, intelligence indicated numerous links between al-Qa'eda and Algeria. It began to look as though the roots of jihad could be traced back to the war in Algeria that began 50 years ago. Alistair Horne

War Intelligence Numerous Algeria Jihad Back Though Following Could Between Look Years Years Ago Began Links Roots

Though not the longest battle in history - that was Verdun - Stalingrad was certainly the most pitiless, an adjective that reappears regularly in Mr. Beevor's classic work. Alistair Horne

Work History Battle Though Adjective Classic Longest Most Regularly Certainly

Shortly after Pearl Harbor, FDR committed a most visionary act: He appointed a Harvard historian to write the official account of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Samuel Eliot Morison was given the rank of lieutenant commander, with the right to interview anyone of whatever status. Alistair Horne

War World Whatever Interview Rank Visionary Harvard Status Lieutenant Given Write He Most Commander Historian Account Official Committed Anyone After Samuel Act Harbor Navy Right Pearl Pearl Harbor Appointed World War World War II

In 1939, Fitzroy Maclean, a gangly Highland aristocrat in his early 30s, was serving as a British diplomat in the U.S.S.R. Disgusted by the Soviet show trials, he quit the Foreign Service and would go on to serve with Tito's partisans fighting the Germans in Yugoslavia. Alistair Horne

A triumph in which Kissinger could claim to have played some little part, in the presidential elections that November, President Richard Nixon had won the second greatest landslide in American history. Forty-seven million Americans had voted for him - and for his and Kissinger's policies - representing more than 60 percent of all the votes cast. Alistair Horne

History November Richard Nixon President Presidential Claim Nixon Some Percent Triumph More Cast Kissinger Could Had Part Voted Votes Policies Him Greatest His Won Than American Representing American History Which Little Richard Elections Landslide Million Played Second

Though Washington had closed down for the holidays, the next day, December 26, a key message from Hanoi brought Kissinger racing back to his office. It was the signal the White House had anxiously been awaiting; it was also the day of one of the biggest raids by the giant B-52s. Alistair Horne

Day Key Closed White White House Down Back Giant Though Signal Brought Kissinger Had House Also Message Been His Office December Biggest Holidays Racing Next Awaiting Washington

On 6 October 1973, the Yom Kippur war broke out between a coalition of Arab states and Israel. At 6 A.M. that morning, Kissinger, asleep in the Waldorf, was taken by surprise by the Arab attack - as were the CIA and the rest of the world. Alistair Horne

War Morning CIA World Rest States Broke Arab Out Kissinger Attack Taken Between Israel October Surprise Were Asleep Coalition

In the late 1980s, a new revolt broke out, this time led by the fundamentalist FIS (Islamic Salvation Front). Many of its leaders were the kind of young Algerians who joined the struggle against the French occupiers in the 1950s. Alistair Horne

Kissinger was surely one of the very few statesmen to try to do something positive to break the log jam of the Cold War; to try to end the war in Vietnam; to bring a halt to the cycle of war in the Middle East. Alistair Horne

Without Kissinger's work in the Middle East, with Sadat especially, I doubt if the Camp David Agreements five years later would have happened. His achievements over detente, the seeds of trust he sowed in a very distrustful and hostile Moscow, helped over a long period. Alistair Horne

Work Trust Long Doubt Later East Would Seeds Detente Kissinger David Long Period He Hostile Over Moscow Period Without His Years Camp Very Five Achievements Middle Middle East Happened Helped Agreements

Mikheil Saakashvili can claim that 80 per cent of Georgians wanted to join NATO; on the other hand, a similar percentage of Russians would almost certainly support Putin's quest for a strong Russia. We would mistake this mood at our peril. Alistair Horne

Mistake Strong NATO Other Our Claim Mood Would Per Russia Russians Similar Percentage Join Putin Support Almost Peril Quest Hand Georgian Wanted Cent Certainly

History never repeats, but there are the obvious precedents that pessimists can reach for: Sarajevo, 1914; the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia, 1938. But equally relevant might be the tragically meaningless guarantees Britain extended to Poland in 1939. Alistair Horne

History Relevant Never Poland Reach Obvious Equally Repeats Tragically Might Meaningless Pessimists Czechoslovakia Extended Britain Guarantees

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