History is not a blueprint but a cautionary tale. It is replete with
warnings to those who believe that they can outguess the future, or that
their country has a mandate from providence, or that alliances are a
nuisance, or that a brusque arrogance is preferrable to simulated
humility.
-- Karl E. Meyer. The Dust of Empire: The Race for
Mastery in the Asian Heartland
New York: PublicAffairs, 2003.