George Washington Quotes

To secure peace is to prepare for war.

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.

Our country has never started a war. Our sole objective is deterrence, the strength and capability it takes to prevent war.

Our strategy is one of preventing war by making it self-evident to our enemies that they're going to get their clocks cleaned if they start one.

A self-respecting nation is ready for anything, including war, except for a renunciation of its option to make war.

The American people like a President who is for peace, but they also want to know that he is ready to kill.

Those who want peace should prepare for war and be strong.

I am convinced there is no more effective method of preventing a war than a decisive stance illustrating that we are ready at any moment to repel possible attack.

Peace is purchased from strength. It's not purchased from weakness or unilateral retreats.

In times of peace, the war party insists on making preparation for war. As soon as prepared for, it insists on making war.

In time of peace prepare for war.

You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.

The state of Israel must, from time to time, prove clearly that it is strong, and able and willing to use force, in a devastating and highly effective way. If it does not prove this, it will be swallowed up, and perhaps wiped off the face of the earth.

To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.

The Commonwealth of Venice in their armoury have this inscription, "Happy is that city which in time of peace thinks of war.

You have repeatedly asserted that you and the German people have no desire for war. If this is true there need be no war. Nothing can persuade the peoples of the earth that any governing power has any right or need to inflict the consequences of war on its own or any other people save in the cause of self-evident home defense.

Any idea that you can have a league for security is nuts, and all people who favor it are potential murderers… as long as man is man, there will be war and the only way to avoid trouble is to have the best army and navy, which we now have.

In vain do they worship peace at home, who cannot defend themselves against foreigners.

There is a rank due to the United States among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure the peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.

As head of a military structure I am responsible for the realization of military issues. If you want to have everlasting peace, you must be ready for war. We must be ready to face any provocation.

When you talk about peace through strength, what you're talking about is the concept of deterrence.

History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. To keep the peace, we and our allies must be strong enough to convince any potential aggressor that war could bring no benefit, only disaster.

Sometimes and in particular dealing with a dictator, the only chance of peace is a readiness for war.

America has never gotten in a war because we were too strong.

Lightly armed nations can move toward war just as easily as those which are armed to the teeth, and they will do so if the usual causes of war are not removed.