Barack Obama Quotes

Waging war we understand, but not waging peace, or at any rate less consciously so.

Winning the peace is harder than winning the war.

Peacemaking and peacekeeping should run in parallel.

You can't beat your enemy anymore through wars; instead you create an entire generation of people revenge-seeking. [...] Our opponents are going to resort to car bombs and suicide attacks because they have no other way to win. I believe (Rumsfeld) thinks this is a war that can be won, but there is no such thing anymore. We can't beat anyone anymore.

We know how to win wars. We must learn now to win peace.

War is just like bush-clearing-the moment you stop, the jungle comes back even thicker, but for a little while you can plant and grow a crop in the ground you have won at such a terrible cost.

I consider even a victorious war as an evil, from which statesmanship must endeavor to spare nations.

There is still work to be done, but that remains a crucial lesson, you cannot bring peace and security to people just by signing an agreement. In fact, most peace agreements don't last.

The problems of peace are greater than the problems of war.

History has witnessed the failure of many endeavors to impose peace by war, cooperation by coercion, unanimity by slaughtering dissidents.... A lasting order cannot be established by bayonets.

I was reminded as I was reviewing my life, that I have been in too many conflicts, too many wars, political battles, military battles, civil strifes in government. And always one lesson stands out and that is, those whom you fight most passionately often turn out to be your best friends.

The methods of peace propaganda which aim at establishing peace doctrine by argument and by creating a feeling favorable to peace in general seem to fall short of reaching the springs of human action and of dealing with the causes of the conduct which they seek to modify.

Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

We should wage war not to win war, but to win peace.

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.

To many, peace is what enables development and is critical in providing opportunities to young people. To some - especially those from regions involved in conflict - peacekeeping and efforts to preserve peace are absolutely vital in bringing prosperity and hope for the future.

We in the West think of peace as society's default position. War is a temporary state of affairs that happens when peace fails. For us, war is something that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When it is over, win or lose, the warring factions lay down their arms and resume their normal lives.

I think the day you start building the war plan is the day you start beginning the postwar plan.

All the aftermath that so frequently follows in the wake of war still confront the nation, and we now, as ever before, must hold fast to the ancient landmarks and see to it that all of these plagues that threaten so mightily shall be rendered harmless.

Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.

Six years ago today war was declared. Now we are starting again with officially declared peace the world in physical and spiritual chaos. History in the making can be most exhausting.

A war is only as good as the peace that follows.

The possibility of the United States winning the war and losing the peace is real and serious

Americans have learned that it is harder to end wars than it is to begin them

When I addressed international forums as prime minister, the Israeli people expected me to present bold political initiatives that would bring peace - not arguments outlining why achieving peace now is not possible.