Edward Grey Quotes
Fear begets suspicion and distrust and evil imaginings of all sorts, till each government feels it would be criminal … of its own country not to take every precaution [armament], while every Government regards every precaution of every other government as evidence of hostile intent.
Edward Grey [Viscount Fallodon], 1862-1933, British Foreign Secretary (Liberal), Twenty-Five Years,1892-1916, 1925
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
America, England, Germany and France Many Japanese leaders predicted war between the Great Powers while America and its European Allies did not see the danger as clearly. Shortly after 1936, Hitler began the Second World War. Japan was indeed prepared. Hiranuma became one of the Japanese extremists and after WWII was convicted of war crimes and given a life sentence.
1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley. Baldwin has been castigated since WWII for being part of the “appeasement group” in England. As Prime Minister in 1935 he would not face the threat of Fascism, Germany and the Nazis and did not initiate a major arms buildup. Churchill, among others, never forgave him. See {626930} for Churchill’s view of Baldwin.
A similar slogan, 'I'd rather be Red then dead,' was reported in Time, September 15, 1961.
There were many who thought that the Russians would view the Mutual Security Act as aggressive and they might respond with some kind of aggressive retaliation and this could lead to war. Others felt that containment would reduce the likelihood of war.
As the atomic bomb evolved to the hydrogen bomb and the test results were learned by political and military leaders, the perception of the danger became much greater, especially when the Russians and French also developed their nuclear weapons. After that, and Einstein’s predictions about the cost and quantity, leaders in the world all became conscious of the danger of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), most leaders realized that it was impossible see atomic weapons as anything but defense.
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, KG, PC, DL, FZS, better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War.
