You come back from war, and you have a certain authority to talk about war. Phil Klay authoritybacktalk Change image and share on social
One of the things that's difficult for people to understand is when you join the military, you don't sign up as an endorsement of any particular policy of the moment. Phil Klay difficultendorsementjoin Change image and share on social
In war, it feels like everything you're doing is more important because you're in the proximity of violence and death, and that proximity changes your relationship to America because it changes the way you see the world. Phil Klay americadeathfelt share on social
I didn't want to write a 'this is how it is' Iraq book, because the Iraq War is an intensely complicated variety of things. Phil Klay bookcomplicateintensely Change image and share on social
The Cold War provided justification for a larger peacetime military, since we were never really at peace, or so the argument went. Phil Klay argumentcoldjustification Change image and share on social
I was studying with Peter Carey, Colum McCann; but also, my fellow students were really critical readers for me. Phil Klay careycolumcritical Change image and share on social
I never thought anyone would pity me because of my time in the Marine Corps. Phil Klay corpsmarinepity Change image and share on social
I literally went straight to New York City from Iraq, which was bizarre and complicated. I was walking down Madison Avenue, and it was spring, and people were smartly dressed, and it was so strange because there was no sense that we were at war. It was something to grapple with. Phil Klay avenuebizarrecity share on social
Prayer in a combat zone serves exactly the same purpose as it does in peacetime. In war, the stakes are life and death, true; but if you believe in God and in the notion of a human soul, then we are always making decisions of tremendous significance. Phil Klay combatdeathdecision share on social
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are as much every U.S. citizen's wars as they are the veterans' wars. If we don't assume that civilians have just as much ownership and the moral responsibilities that we have as a nation when we embark on something like that, then we're in a very bad situation. Phil Klay afghanistanassumebad share on social