A conquest can be a praiseworthy thing, and there are times
when war becomes the powerful basis of peace, and ruin
the very means of reconstruction. If, for example, a high-minded sovereign
marshals his troops to block the onset of the insurgent and the aggressor, or
again, if he takes the field and distinguishes himself in a struggle to unify a
divided state and people, if, in brief, he is waging war for a righteous
purpose, then this seeming wrath is mercy itself, and this apparent tyranny the
very substance of justice and this warfare the cornerstone of peace. Today, the
task befitting great rulers is to establish universal peace, for in this lies
the freedom of all peoples.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)
