"When PLO sniper fire is followed by..." - Quote by Ronald Reagan
When PLO sniper fire is followed by 14 hours of Israeli bombardment, that's stretching the definition of defensive action too far.
More by Ronald Reagan
“The current tax code is a daily mugging.”
“Wearing love beads and touting our sincerity will not make this a safer world.”
“Our status as a free society and world power is not based on brute strength. When we've taken up arms, it has been for the defense of freedom for ourselves and for other peaceful nations who needed our help. But now, faced with the development of weapons with immense destructive power, we've no choice but to maintain ready defense forces that are second to none. Yes, the cost is high, but the price of neglect would be infinitely higher.”
More on Conflict
“I have never believed that war settled anything satisfactorily, but I am not entirely sure that some times there are certain situations in the world such as we have in actuality when a country is worse off when it does not go to war for its principles than if it went to war.”
“So far war has been the only force that can discipline a whole community, and until an equivalent discipline is organized, I believe that war must have its way.”
“Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.”
More on Middle East
“We need stable regimes in this part of the world [the Mideast] who will be partners and friends of ours, because the fact of the matter is we do rely on imported oil to fuel our economy and to fuel our nation.”
“We must formulate, with both imagination and restraint, a new approach to the Middle East - not pressing our case so hard that the Arabs feel their neutrality and nationalism are threatened ... while at the same time trying to hasten the inevitable Arab acceptance of the permanence of Israel ... We must ... seek a permanent settlement among Arabs and Israelis based not on an armed truce but on mutual self-interest.”
“A nuclear Iran is a threat to America's national security, and it is a threat to Israel's national security. We cannot afford to have a nuclear arms race in the most volatile region of the world.”