#Deterrence Quotes

“It may be that ... when the advance of destructive weapons enables everyone to kill everybody else nobody will want to kill anyone at all. [Referring to the hydrogen bomb.]”

“Even the Soviet Union, with its huge nuclear arsenal, was a threat that could be deterred by the prospect of retaliation. But suicide bombers cannot be deterred. They can only be annihilated - preemptively and unilaterally, if necessary.”

“There are some who've forgotten why we have a military. It's not to promote war, it's to be prepared for peace.”

“What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter a Soviet attack, that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies?”

“No one punishes the evil-doer under the notion, or for the reason, that he has done wrong -- only the unreasonable fury of a beast acts in that way. But he who desires to inflict rational punishment does not retaliate for a past wrong, for that which is done cannot be undone, but he has regard to the future, and is desirous that the man who is punished, and he who sees him punished, may be deterred from doing wrong again.”

“Obsolete weapons do not deter.”

“Wars are not caused by the buildup of weapons. They are caused when an aggressor believes he can achieve his objectives at an acceptable price.”

“We're saying to anyone who dares to attack us, Do not do it, you couldn't win, the result would be devastating! I think you're saying the same.”

“A bully has no respect for a weakling and the way to stop a bully is not to be weak. The way to stop a bully from ever being a bully is to say: "I'm as strong as you. Anything you do to me, I can do to you." We are going for nuclear and conventional disarmament but we're going about it in the right way.”

“A world without nuclear weapons would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us.”

“Our judgement is that the presence of the Royal Marines garrison is sufficient deterrent against any possible aggression.”

“Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed - but they can never be appeased.”

“Hanging one scoundrel, it appears, does not deter the next. Well, what of it? The first one is at least disposed of.”

“For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.”

“No severity of punishment deters when detection is uncertain, as it always must be.”

“There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy.”

“The best way to have peace is to always be prepared to fight a way.”

“Let's keep our boots polished, bayonets sharpened, and present a picture of force and strength to the Red Army. This is the only language they understand and respect.”

“Lying offshore, ready to act, the presence of ships and Marines sometimes means much more than just having air power or ship's fire, when it comes to deterring a crisis. And the ships and Marines may not have to do anything but lie offshore. It is hard to lie offshore with a C-141 or C-130 full of airborne troops.”