Interview on ABC's Good Morning America, as quoted in "Clinton says U.S. could "totally obliterate" Iran" by David Morgan, Reuters (22 April 2008)

I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran (if it attacks Israel). In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them. That’s a terrible thing to say but those people who run Iran need to understand that because that perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish and tragic.

— Hillary Clinton

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran (if it attacks Israel). In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them. That’s a terrible thing to say but those people who run Iran need to understand that because that perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish and tragic." in the context of "Interview on ABC's Good Morning America, as quoted in "Clinton says U.S. could "totally obliterate" Iran" by David Morgan, Reuters (22 April 2008)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Hillary Clinton" (Quotes, Presidential campaign (January 20, 2007 – 2008)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Hillary Clinton

About Hillary Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born 26 October 1947) is a former United States secretary of state, U.S. senator, and First Lady of the United States. From 2009 to 2013, she was the 67th secretary of state, serving under President Barack Obama. She previously represented New York state in the Senate (2001 to 2009). Before that, as the wife of President Bill Clinton, she was First Lady from 1993 to 2001. In the 2008 election, Clinton was a leading candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. In 2016, she became the first female candidate to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. Clinton lost the presidential election to Donald Trump on November 8, 2016.