The way to win an atomic war is to make certain it never starts.
—Winston Churchill
Either war is obsolete or men are.
—Winston Churchill
It is well that war is so terrible—otherwise we would grow too fond of it.
—Solomon Short
Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
—Theodore Roosevelt
One day President Roosevelt told me that he was asking publicly for suggestions about what the war should be called. I said at once 'The Unnecessary War'.
—Thomas Mann
Wars are, of course, as a rule to be avoided; but they are far better than certain kinds of peace.
—W. L. George
War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.
—Walter Goodman
The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.
—Unknown
You're immature. You've been unable to adjust to the idea of war."
"Yes, sir."
"You have a morbid aversion to dying. You probably resent the fact that you're at war and might get your head blown off any second."
"I more than resent it, sir. I'm absolutely incensed."
"… Misery depresses you. Ignorance depresses you. Persecution depresses you. Violence depresses you.… You know, it wouldn't surprise me if you're a manic depressive!
—Joseph Heller
A 1979 survey concluded that more Vietnam veterans had died by their own hand than in combat.
—John Langone
Look at an infantryman's eyes, and you can tell how much war he has seen.
—Bill Mauldin
Take the diplomacy out of war and the thing would fall flat in a week.
—Will Rogers
Everyone's a pacifist between wars. It's like being a vegetarian between meals.
—Colman McCarthy
War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.
—John F. Kennedy
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it.
—Joseph Conrad