War & Peace Quote by John Conyers

Conyers’ line is less a moral declaration than a piece of political architecture: a statement built to survive cross-examination. The opening clause, “None of us condone terrorism in any way, shape, or form,” functions as a preemptive inoculation. It anticipates the American political reflex that any nuance about Middle East actors can be reframed as sympathy for violence. By invoking a collective “us,” Conyers pulls the audience into a shared baseline of legitimacy before naming names.

Then comes the hard pivot: “I believe Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.” The “I believe” is doing quiet legal and diplomatic work. It signals conviction while leaving just enough room for debate, hearings, and shifting intelligence assessments. The triple tense - “was, is, and remains” - turns a contested political label into a permanent identity. That phrasing forecloses the possibility that Hezbollah might be understood as both militia and political party, or as a product of Lebanese state weakness and regional proxy conflict. It compresses history into continuity.

The final demand - “must be dismantled and disarmed” - escalates from classification to prescription. It’s an American lawmaker adopting the language of security doctrine, not conflict resolution: dismantle, disarm, neutralize. The subtext is strategic reassurance: to constituents, to pro-Israel advocacy networks, to colleagues wary of appearing soft. Contextually, it echoes post-9/11 congressional rhetoric where condemnation isn’t just a stance but a credential, and “peace” is invoked as a destination reachable through coercive subtraction rather than political settlement.