Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: They decline a general engagement,--prudently enough, if their object had been to make the war attend upon a treaty of…

On the record
They decline a general engagement,--prudently enough, if their object had been to make the war attend upon a treaty of good terms of subjection; but when they look further, this will not do.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke critiques the American strategy of avoiding general engagements in the war.

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