“Occupation almost always breeds an insurgency, as the U.S. discovered in the Philippines, and later in Viet Nam.”

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Meaning

The quote says that foreign occupation tends to provoke resistance from the people being occupied. It points to the Philippines and Viet Nam as examples of the United States facing insurgency after occupation. The wording presents this as a general pattern rather than a one-time event.

When It Was Said

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Who It Was Said To

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Historical Context

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Source

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Original Language & Translation

Originally said in English.

Did They Really Say It?

No source found on Wikiquote; the quote is listed as attributed to John Mearsheimer.

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About John Mearsheimer

American political scientist and international relations scholar

John Joseph Mearsheimer is an American political scientist and scholar of international relations, and a professor at the University of Chicago. He is known for his work on great power politics and the theory of offensive realism. His writing and teaching focus on how states compete for power in an anarchic international system. He has become widely associated with realist thinking in international affairs, especially questions of security, rivalry, and the behavior of major powers.

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