Defensive Capabilities Quotes
This was the earliest version of a variant of the great WWII propaganda phrase, “Arsenal of Democracy”. See --{624746} and {624747} for quotations related to this famous phrase.
The president had wanted to send large amounts of armament and other material to England—Lend Lease—to help stave off a German invasion. The leading military men argued against it. Conservative isolationists and Congress had prevented our own military from having enough supplies and equipment. Also the conclusion of the American military leadership of the time was that England was beyond help and would have to capitulate to Germany. Even with massive armaments they would not be able to defend themselves. Any arms that we might provide to England would then fall into German hands. Roosevelt then sent his civilian assistant, Harry Hopkins, to England to assess their ability to survive. Hopkins with no military experience told Roosevelt that with the arms and ammunition England would be able to forestall invasion. Roosevelt trusted Hopkins’ judgment and decided to arm England. Hopkins turned out to be exactly correct and the military leadership was wrong. See {642830}.
1st Baron Verulam. The word “estate’ meant a political unit or subunit. These might be ruled by kings, dukes, war lords, etc. However, Bacon’s point was all armaments and the physical trappings of war are relatively minor when compared to the qualities of the population. With modern technology, this principle has become less and less true. Given the same technology in war, the outcome will depend on the human qualities and warlike disposition of the humans. However, a modern force with modern equipment and weapons can defeat an enemy of braver and more warlike disposition which does not have the same technology. In the modern world, a number of cultures find this a very distressing reality. The noble and courageous man should win, but Western technology, many complain, is undermining the old, traditional virtues.
