Todd Haynes Quotes

All War Departments are now Defense Departments. This is all part of the doubletalk of our time. The aggressor is always on the other side.

Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.

What I've learned, and will try to remember from now on, is that defending your country's credibility is never sufficient reason to fight a war.

I thought the Vietnam war was an utter, unmitigated disaster, so it was very hard for me to say anything good about it.

Bob Gates is really emblematic of the modern CIA. He joins it in 1968, just a day before the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia. And, of course, he rises very quickly. In less than six years, he's on the National Security Council staff, at the closing weeks of Richard Nixon's presidency and then on into Gerald Ford.

Malicious attacks on the Soviet Union produce a natural feeling of indignation.

I said in court a long time ago that I didn't see that the Soviet Union was significantly helped by the information I gave them, nor that the United States was significantly harmed.

As to war, I am and always was a great enemy, at the same time a warrior the greater part of my life and were I young again, should still be a warrior while ever this country should be invaded and I lived.

James Forrestal is the most dangerous man in America. If he is not removed from office, he will cause another world war.

In order to function, the United States needs an enemy.

State of the Union

Americans’ manner of viewing foreign adversaries today is rooted in the history of their country’s past relations with the outside world. Their attitudes have been shaped especially by the most costly and all-consuming episodes in that history, in particular the wars—hot and cold—of the 20th century.

Mitt Romney had it right in 2012 when he told President Barack Obama that Russia was 'without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe.'

I don't believe Russia would attack a NATO country or NATO as such, no matter which country we are talking about.

I'm very concerned about the countries bordering Russia. But let's stay off that stuff.

Maybe some Ukrainians would like to have Sweden or Canada for a neighbor, but we have Russia.

I was on the front lines in the Cold War, and I was on the front lines in the fight against Al Qaeda.

America is carrying out policies against Russia and its leadership. They know I'm among those ready to give my life for Russia and that I have a good army capable of attacking and defending. We'll see who comes out on top.

And most worryingly, it wouldn't surprise me if Putin ends up starting a major military conflict with the West at some point in the future to save his own skin as head of state in Russia.

A country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security.

Israel is a solid ally of the United States. We will rise to Israel's defense, if need be. So this kind of menacing talk [by the President of Iran] is disturbing. It's not only disturbing to the United States, it's disturbing for other countries in the world, as well. Asked whether he meant the U.S. would rise to Israel's defense militarily, Bush said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel."

It's a little hard to avoid putting both war and politics in, in that they both come into the activity, but on their own. My basic idea is to do a great love film set in the hell of 1942. At that moment, hell was Leningrad. Underneath all this, of course, is a film about dissension between the two most important countries in the world, the United States and the Soviet Union. I think it is a must at this point to talk about cooperation instead of the rancor and hatred and competition between nations.

A great country cannot wage a little war.

The war against Iraq is as disastrous as it is unnecessary; perhaps in terms of its wisdom, purpose and motives, the worst war in American history... Our military men and women...were not called to defend America but rather to attack Iraq. They were not called to die for, but rather to kill for, their country. What more unpatriotic thing could we have asked of our sons and daughters...?

General [Michael] Flynn has been in touch with diplomatic leaders, security leaders in some 30 countries. That's exactly what the incoming national security advisor should do.