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War

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“The domestic divisions that grew out of Vietnam were generally treated in the public discourse as a clash between those who were "for" the war and those who were "against" it. That, however, was not the fundamental issue. Every administration in office during the Vietnam war sought to end it - nearly desperately. The daunting and heartrending question was how to define this goal.”
Henry Kissinger (1923–2023) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ending the Vietnam War: A History of America's Involvement in and Extrication from the Vietnam War (2003)
“Instead of funding issues of paper on the hypothecation of specific redeeming taxes (the only method of anticipating, in a time of war, the resources of times of peace, tested by the experience of nations), we are trusting to tricks of jugglers on the cards, to the illusions of banking schemes for the resources of the war, and for the cure of colic to inflations of more wind.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1814 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to José Correia da Serra (1814) ME 14:224
“This time during the Second World War is part of my history, part of my memory, but it is the latest part of my memory, so the memories of each human being goes much more back, it goes to the dinosaurs, even later [Kiefer means: earlier].. .. I think we even remember geological times. So this is one little part of our / of mine memory [the Second World War]”
Anselm Kiefer (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Your war memories will be with you forever, you'll be asked about them thousands of times after the war is over. People will get their respect for you from that-partly from that, don't get me wrong-but if you can say that you were up front where there was some real shooting going on, then that will mean a whole lot to you in years to come.”
John Knowles (1926–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now it's a war on women; tomorrow it's going to be a war on left-handed Irishmen or something like that.”
Paul Ryan (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What thrust us into war were not Hitler's political teachings: the cause, this time, was his successful attempt to establish a new economy. The causes of the war were: envy, greed, and fear.”
J. F. C. Fuller (1878–1966) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Second World War, 1939-1945: a strategical and tactical history, (1948).
“There never was a war that was not inward; I must fight till I conquered in myself what causes war”
Marianne Moore (1887–1972) said by 1972 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“From the happy expression on their faces you might have supposed that they welcomed the war. I have met with men who loved stamps, and stones, and snakes, but I could not imagine any man loving war.”
Margot Asquith (1864–1945) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Autobiography of Margot Asquith (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1963) p. 291. (1922)
“Jihad should be waged in places where there is war. Bombings in places where there is no war is not a good thing.”
Abu Bakar Bashir (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“First, I want to do what I can to help win the war and thus perform whatever duty I can for my native land. Second, I want to help those of my own race. I am doing all I can to help win the war effort and to make people generally more appreciative and kinder to my race.”
Josephine Baker (1906–1975) first seen 1943 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On why she was performing for Allied troops against doctor's orders, Atlanta Daily World 25 Jul 1943
“To rescue mankind from that domination by the irrational which leads to war could surely be a more exultant fight than war itself, a fight capable of enlarging the souls of men and women...niting them in one dedicated community whose common purpose transcends the individual.”
Vera Brittain (1893–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The bonds of mutual understanding and esteem are strengthening between the peoples, and the time is approaching when nothing can hold back from them the knowledge that it is they who are the victims of war and militarism; that war in its tawdry triumphs scatters the fruits of their labour, breaks down the paths of progress, and turns the fire of constructive energy into a destroying force.”
Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836–1908) first seen 1906 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the opening of the 14th Inter-Parliamentary Conference in the Royal Gallery of Westminster Palace (23 July 1906), quoted in The Times (24 July 1906), p. 3
“One of the principal functions of war, and particularly... hegemonic war, is to determine the international hierarchy of prestige and thereby determine which states will in effect govern the international system.”
Robert Gilpin (1930–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All I can say is that living for 17 years without rest from fighting, dealing with problem after problem, war after war, and crisis after crisis, every day and every hour was very difficult.”
Mengistu Haile Mariam (born 1937) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Either Christ is a liar or war is never necessary, and very properly assuming that Christ told the truth, it follows that the State is without [in the words of Father Macksey] ‘judicial authority to determine when war is necessary,’ because it is never necessary.”
Ben Salmon (1889–1932) first seen 1921 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Critique of Just War Doctrine (1921) by Ben Salmon, pp.86–87
“I reckon that the Bailey Bridge and the bulldozer were the greatest advances in military engineering in the years between World War I and World War II.”
Christopher Vokes (1904–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At first thought , we might say, 'our job is to win a war'...but I am sure it would be closer to the hearts of all of us to say, 'We are fighting a war to assure a peace...our kind of peace.'”
Carole Lombard (1908–1942) first seen 1942 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speaking at an Indianapolis war-bond rally (15 January 1942)
“Asking who won a given war, someone has said, is like asking who won the San Francisco earthquake. That in war there is no victory but only varying degrees of defeat is a proposition that has gained increasing acceptance in the twentieth century.”
Kenneth Waltz (1924–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War most often promotes the internal unity of each state involved. The state plagued by internal strife may then, instead of waiting for the accidental attack, seek the war that will bring internal peace.”
Kenneth Waltz (1924–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Then what explains war among states? Rousseau's answer is really that war occurs because there is nothing to prevent it.”
Kenneth Waltz (1924–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War may achieve a redistribution of resources, but labor, not war, creates wealth.”
Kenneth Waltz (1924–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War, as Rousseau pointed out long before Tolstoy took up the theme, only makes manifest events already determined by moral causes (Emile,Bk. IV). For this reason our main energies must be directed against the moral causes of war. Those moral causes lie within ourselves — and pacifists should not suppose for a moment that they are pure in heart in this respect.”
Herbert Read (1893–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Redemption of the Robot (1969).
“'After this success, Ghazi (Victor in a Holy-war) was written amongst the royal titles. Below the titles (tughra) entered on the Fath-nama, I wrote the following quatrain: For Islam's sake, I wandered in the wilds, Prepared for war with pagans and Hindus, Resolved myself to meet the martyr's death, Thanks be to Allah! a ghazi I became.”
Babur (1483–1531) said by 1531 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Babur-Nama, translated into English by A.S. Beveridge, New Delhi reprint, 1979, pp. 574-75
“The ones who are saying, "You can’t say 'happy holidays'. You have to say 'merry Christmas', because this is our season - this is the Christmas season." Well, it's not the Christmas season, it's the solstice season. And that's why it's not a war on Christmas. It's a war on the solstice, and the Christians started it.”
David Silverman (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“During wartime, no belligerent nation will admit any limitation of its supreme sovereignty. Each nation is a law unto itself Treaties and international laws are sometimes observed in war, if their observance does not stand in the way of winning. But tragic experience indicates that the most sacred obligations are utterly disregarded when their observance means losing the war.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hatred is an essential part of war. During the conflict it is regarded as treason to "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you." In war, the enemy are regarded as targets, not as sons of God.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War is planned devastation and organized slaughter. ...War is continued devastation and slaughter until the enemy yields or until a nation's own defeat is acknowledged.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War is atrocity; war is a method of savage violence.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The war method includes falsehood as an integral part. Truth is indeed a casualty of war.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Preparedness to use the weapons of war creates the tempers, the quarrels and the crises which lead to the outbreak of war.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we trust organized and aggressive goodwill we will transform the present war-producing system into a peace system which removes the causes of war and maintains the agencies of pacific settlement of international dispute.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The present assault on capital is but the beginning. It will be but the stepping-stone to others, larger and more sweeping, till our political contests will become a war of the poor against the rich—a war constantly growing in intensity and bitterness.”
Stephen Johnson Field (1816–1899) first seen 1895 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Concurring in Pollock v. Farmers Loan and Trust Co., 157 U. S. 429, 607 (1895).
“...the covenant people must wage war against the enemies of God, because this war is unto death. The deliberate, refined, and obscene violence of the anti-God forces permits no quarter...this warfare must continue until the Amalekites of the world are blotted out, until God's law-order prevails and His justice reigns.”
Rousas John Rushdoony (1916–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ministry of Defence? At least in the old days we were honest, called it the Ministry of War. "Hello, Ministry of War, department of nigger-bombing. How can I help?”
Frankie Boyle (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“probably the education in nonviolent direct action couldn’t have been learned without a war. It had to take a war for people to learn that things could be defied and resisted. I think that was a very important legacy of the peace movement. (2000)”
Grace Paley (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we speak about what is happening in Ukraine - it is a war, not a hybrid one, almost a real war, that the West has been plotting for a long time against Russia.”
Sergey Lavrov (born 1950) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Conflict with West 'almost a real war', says Russia", The Telegraph, 23 January 2023
“War is a mass phenomenon. To penetrate the basic causes of war, we must discern the factors which have made millions of people abandon their habitual modes of life, their occupations, and their moral concepts to participate in murder and destruction. We should therefore put greater stress upon the simple conscious and .subconscious impulses which rule the behavior of the masses.”
Eugene M. Kulischer (1881–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[The Russo-Ukrainian war] It's a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia – and it needs to come to an end.”
Marco Rubio (born 1971) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Kremlin says Rubio's view of Ukraine conflict as a US-Russia proxy war matches that of Putin, Reuters (March 6, 2025)
“Do you know how many children have died in Gaza in this last war? More than 3,000. It is incredible, but it is the reality … And in Ukraine there are more than 500, and in Yemen, in years of war, thousands … Their memory leads us to be ourselves lights for the world, to touch the hearts of many people, especially those who can stop the whirlwind of violence.”
Pope Francis (1936–2025) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pope Deplores Child Deaths in 'Whirlwind of Violence' in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen", U.S. News & World Report (15 December 2023)
“Religion finally severed the unity which all willed but none could trust. An heroic nation of monotheists sought to impose its faith on a vaguely pantheist world. For the first and last time the Second Men stumbled into a world-wide civil war; and just because the war was religious it developed a brutality hitherto unknown.”
Olaf Stapledon (1886–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“World peace is continually threatened by the paranoia of power, as internal and international conflicts plague humanity. Confronted by the danger of weapons of mass destruction, humanity must take effective measures towards disarmament. Albert Einstein warned us: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nations don't make twelve-inch guns to shoot quail. They don't drop bombs in mid-Pacific lagoons to kill fish. War is inevitable until the time comes when nations give up their sovereign right to make war and learn to settle their problems peacefully.”
Bill Downs (1914–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Bradley joined CBS's 60 Minutes as coeditor in the 1981–1982 season. He also anchored and reported special broadcasts on 60 Minutes II. Bradley's first full-time work in television was as a war correspondent for CBS News during the Vietnam War. … He has received numerous Emmy Awards for his work, one for a 1981 interview with Lena Horne.”
Ed Bradley (1941–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There's no video of president Trump sucking a ding dong. And so what if there was, that's a lot better than World War III Owen. I never sucked any ding dongs, but I'll tell ya if they were going to black mail me to start World War III about one, I'd say hey, I sucked a ball golf ball through a frickin garden hose!”
Alex Jones (born 1974) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trump sucking ding dong...better than WW3", The Alex Jones Show, April 14 2018.
“The South went to war on account of slavery. South Carolina went to war, as she said in her secession proclamation, because slavery would not be secure under Lincoln. South Carolina ought to know what was the cause for her seceding. The truth is the modern Virginians departed from the teachings of the Father's.”
John S. Mosby (1833–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Today we are practically living a trade war, a currency war because the exchange rate today is one of the important factors to determine the competitiveness or not of products. Generalized currency depreciation in my view is an explicit strategy used by countries and that threatens us.”
Guido Mantega (born 1949) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the seminar "The Role of Industry in the Growth of Brazil" organized by the Getulio Vargas Foundation, September 27, 2010
“During the British rule the war was only at the political level. Now, the war descends to a personal level, that is the difference.”
Ramnath Goenka (1904–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I entered the [[Iran-Iraq War|[Iran-Iraq] war]] on a fifteen-day mission, and ended up staying until the end. … We were all young and wanted to serve the revolution.”
Qasem Soleimani (1957–2020) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Dexter Filkins (30 September 2013). "The Shadow Commander". The New Yorker.
“War, dreadful war, and Tiber flood I see incarnadined with blood.”
John Conington (1825–1869) said by 1869 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Well, if there's no 'war' that begins, but you say 'war begins', no one's going to buy your newspaper the next day because they'll be on to the fact that you don't know what you're talking about.”
Sam Donaldson (born 1934) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Respek" (18 July 2004), Da Ali G Show.