Lord Carrington, as quoted in Heidi Holland, Dinner with Mugabe, Penguin Books; Reprint edition (5 Feb 2009), .
“
If I absolutely had to choose, I would take Mugabe in preference to Smith, though. I couldn't stand Smith. I thought he was a man who saw every tree in the wood but couldn't see the wood... He was a really stupid man, Smith; a bigoted, stupid man.
— Lord Carrington
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "If I absolutely had to choose, I would take Mugabe in preference to Smith, though. I couldn't stand Smith. I thought he was a man who saw every tree in the wood but couldn't see the wood... He was a really stupid man, Smith; a bigoted, stupid man." in the context of "Lord Carrington, as quoted in Heidi Holland, Dinner with Mugabe, Penguin Books; Reprint edition (5 Feb 2009), ." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Ian Smith" (About)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith (April 8, 1919 – November 20, 2007) was a farmer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. Smith took the decision to issue a 'Unilateral Declaration of Independence' from the United Kingdom in 1965 and led the rebel unrecognised government for the next fourteen years. He strongly believed that Rhodesia should continue to be ruled by its European-descended minority while the African descended majority became more experienced in politics, but was forced to concede a power-sharing government when support from South Africa and Portugal ended.
About Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith (April 8, 1919 – November 20, 2007) was a farmer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. Smith took the decision to issue a 'Unilateral Declaration of Independence' from the United Kingdom in 1965 and led the rebel unrecognised government for the next fourteen years. He strongly believed that Rhodesia should continue to be ruled by its European-descended minority while the African descended majority became more experienced in politics, but was forced to concede a power-sharing government when support from South Africa and Portugal ended.
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