Curtis LeMay Quotes

In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success.

A singular fact about modern war is that it takes charge. Once begun it has to be carried to its conclusion, and carrying it there sets in motion events that may be beyond men's control. Doing what has to be done to win, men perform acts that alter the very soil in which society's roots are nourished.

Even modern wars are fought like revenge tales from some petty grievance.

Let him who desires peace prepare for war.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

To secure peace is to prepare for war.

In time of peace prepare for war.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

This enemy of peace in the world today is unlike any we have seen in the past, and our military is learning from, and building on, previous successes while carrying peace and freedom into the future.

Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.

A war regarded as inevitable or even probable, and therefore much prepared for, has a good chance of eventually being fought.

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

You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.

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.

We were reconciled to the fact that we would have war with Russia…. If the war had not come now, we would have had it in two years time under worse conditions…. No one could have foreseen that militarily not everything would work out as one had believed.

We reserve the right to respond to any act of the adversary at a time and place of our choosing.

You can always make peace with an F-16 in your pocket.

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

The pace of change and the speed of war has greatly accelerated.

Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.

Should the enemy forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned.

In war, as it is waged now, with the enormous losses on both sides, both sides will lose. It is a form of mutual suicide.

In any symmetrical war in today's world, it is necessary to have regional support.

Act after having made assessments. The one who first knows the measure of far and near wins - this is the rule of armed struggle.

The one who figures on victory at headquarters before even doing battle is the one who has the most strategic factors on his side.