Athenian general Nicias, warning his fellow Athenians about the potential drawbacks of an intervention in Sicily, 415 B.C. (Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War):
We must not disguise from ourselves that we go to found a city among strangers and enemies, and that he who undertakes such an enterprise should be prepared to become master of the country the first day he lands, or failing in this to find everything hostile to him.
Flash forward to present day:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The military announced the killing of four more U.S. soldiers over the weekend, pushing the American death toll past 1,700 - more than double what it was a year ago. Since last June 13 - when 825 members of the U.S. military had died in Iraq - the insurgency that took shape with the fall of Saddam Hussein has increased its toll on American forces and Iraqi soldiers and civilians alike.
Now, I'm not saying that our involvement in Iraq will lead to the collapse of American hegemony like Athenian involvement in Syracuse did, but Nicias' words are certainly still prescient today.
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