Douglas Hurd
Douglas Hurd
Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell CH CBE PCis a British Conservative politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth8 March 1930
guidelines precise
History provides no precise guidelines.
against becoming extra mixed motives thrown war
Our motives (for war against Iraq) are becoming mixed as extra motives are thrown into the pot.
against benefits east ground middle overthrow president recruiting risk turning weigh
They have to weigh the undoubted benefits of ... (Iraqi President Saddam) Hussein's overthrow against the risk of turning the Middle East into an inexhaustible recruiting ground for anti-Western terrorism.
divided europe superpower
The tragedy of 9/11 galvanised the American superpower into action, leaving us in Europe divided in its wake.
admire arab indeed iraqi islamic neither nor reason saddam trust
Neither the Iraqi people, nor other Arab governments nor indeed Islamic fundamentalists have any reason to admire or trust Saddam Hussein.
war agreement rights
There is no consensus even today on the merits of Napoleon - and certainly no agreement on the rights and wrongs of the origins of the First World War.
character suffering germany
But Germany will always suffer, I fear, from the intensely dramatic character of the crimes of the Third Reich.
iraq might spurs
A genuinely democratic Iraq might well act as a fresh spur.
growing-up years europe
Margaret Thatcher, growing up in a bombed and battered Britain, derived a distrust which has grown with the years not just of Germany but of all continental Europe.
country teaching normal
It is normal for politicians in all countries to profess themselves the pupils of history, anxious to draw the right lessons from her teaching.
past judgment enjoyable
We must admit that history is enjoyable to a large extent because it enables us to pass judgment on the past.
downing-street office house
Ten Downing Street is a house, not an office. That is its most important characteristic.
war military successful
No military timetable should compel war when a successful outcome, namely a disarmed Iraq may be feasible without war, for example by allowing more time to the UN inspectors.
europe america leaving
The tragedy of 9/11 galvanised the American superpower into action, leaving us in Europe divided in its wake.