A repeat of history?

THE Iran nuclear deal refers. Who said the following? “We should seek by all means in our power to avoid war, by analysing possible causes, by trying to remove them, by discussion in a spirit of collaboration and good will.

“How horrible, fantastic, incredible, it is that we should be (contemplating war) because of a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing.

“However much we may sympathise with a small nation confronted by big and powerful neighbours, we cannot in all circumstances undertake to involve the whole (world) in a war simply on her account.”

Was it Barack Obama? Ali Khamenei? The 5+1 negotiators?, Benjamin Netanyahu? It was none of these. They were all statements made by Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister from 1937 to 1940.

On September 30, 1938, the British prime minister, in his speech concerning the Munich Agreement and the Anglo-German Declaration, waving the document signed by him and Hitler, declared: “I believe it is peace for our time.”

This is primarily remembered for its ironic value; less than a year after the agreement, Hitler plunged us into World War II, involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The participants made no distinction between civilians and the military. The war was marked by mass killings of civilians, including the Holocaust, during which approximately 11 million people were killed.

Why do I have an uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu? Here are a few more quotes that may be applied to the current situation:

“There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.” – Goethe. “Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves.” – Byron. “Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice.” – Crichton. “What a sad era when it is easier to smash an atom than a prejudice.” – Einstein. Rodney J Mazinter