Bob Ainsworth Quotes

I was Minister for the Armed Forces in the Ministry of Defence for two years prior to being appointed Defence Secretary.

Some of the best fan mail I get are from our men and women in the military and intelligence communities. They say, 'Boy you do your homework, this is exactly how we're doing it.'

We're in danger of breaking our army and preventing our national leaders from having the flexibility to confront not just Iraq and Afghanistan, but crises around the globe.

I have such pride in my job.

War is much too serious a thing to be left to military men.

As a world leader, America must be prepared to confront any challenge.

Our modern states are preparing for war without even knowing the future enemy.

Getting our military back on stable footing won't happen overnight. We must start this process now, since future engagements are likely and allies are scarce.

I have tremendous faith in President Obama's skills. He's a long-term visionary.

The American people need to tell their member of Congress that we need a strong defense to protect us and to prevent wars. We can't get away with simply leading from behind and gutting our defenses.

I am the commander in chief of the United States armed forces, and Iraq is gonna have to ultimately provide for its own security.

I think I will be a great president having to do with the military and also having to do with taking care of our vets.

The firmest security of peace is the preparation during peace of the defenses of war.

To insist on strength ... is not war-mongering. It is peace-mongering.

It’s not the plans, it’s the people. I think we should have Defense Department people.

Whenever we get involved in a war, the White House seems to have 3 priorities: We cannot appear to be losing; we must appear to be winning; we must look like we know what we are doing.

If there is going to be a war – and no one can say that there is not – we must keep him fresh to be our war Prime Minister

The United States in 2001 is faced with a growing, almost dizzying disparity between its diminished capabilities and the burgeoning requirements of national security.

Secretary Perry became the 19th secretary of defense and the first enlisted man to serve in that role. He had time in the highest ranks of the Pentagon and was instrumental in the dismantlement of the nuclear warheads in the United States and Russia. Throughout his career, he has devoted himself to protecting the interests of the nation.

War is, in fact, an extension of politics, and in any war, military operations have to be conducted in such a way that they contribute to sustainable political outcomes consistent with vital interests that are at stake in that war.

A more worldly and competent foreign and defence policy is by far the preferred first line of defence - rather than the default position of relying on expensive but problematic hardware.

All of the military services - land, sea, and air - spend a great deal of time awake. This is a direct result of the high tempo of operations we conduct while forward deployed well outside our national borders.

Speaker Ryan's vision for a confident America, both at home and abroad, reflects his thoughtful leadership.

In the years leading up to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, thinking about defense was driven by ideas that regarded successful military operations as ends in themselves rather than just one instrument of power that must be coordinated with others to achieve - and sustain - political goals.

What we can afford least is to define the problem of future war as we would like it to be and, by doing so, introduce into our defense vulnerabilities based on self-delusion.