Hannah Arendt Quotes

There are many times where national interest is more important than the law.

The most fundamental purpose of government is defense, not empire.

We want our government to protect us, to make sure something like 9/11 never happens again. We quickly moved to give law enforcement more power to do this. But that now begs the question, did we move to fast? Did we give too much power away? I don't have the answer.

A government without the power of defense! It is a solecism.

Apparently, the United State's threatening other nations is protected under the 1st Amendment.

Very near the heart of all foreign affairs is the relationship between policy and military power.

Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion … and you allow him to make war at pleasure. … If today he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may see no probability he would say to you, “Be silent!, I see if you don’t.”

Independently of its misdeeds, the mere power, — the bare existence of such a power, — is a thing irreconcilable with the nature and spirit of our institutions

Washington's impulsive use of power is a danger to America and to the world.

As a human being with notoriety and a big mouth, I've felt most threatened during the first Bush Administration. Whenever there's a Bush in the White House, many people die, and the rest of us are threatened. I just didn't think it would happen quite so quickly. The so-called USA Patriot Act, and the announcement of trying people in military tribunals if Bush or Rumsfeld's or Ashcroft's people think they somehow qualify as terrorists, basically, this is McCarthyism run amok.

You can't give the government the power to do good without also giving it the power to do bad - in fact, to do anything it wants.

Judge candidly what a wretched figure the American empire will exhibit in the eye of other nations, without a power to array and support a military force for its own protection.

All wars come to an end, at least temporarily. But the authority acquired by the state hangs on; political power never abdicates.

It is only natural that for any statesman at the helm of any government the question of his country's security should be a concern of the utmost importance.

Every American, regardless of their background, has the right to live free of unwarranted government intrusion. Repealing the worst provisions of the Patriot Act will reign in this gross abuse of power and restore to everyone our basic Constitutional rights.

President Obama, like every other leader on Earth, is still going to be looking out for national and economic interests. States don't cease to be states overnight just because they get a great visionary as their new president.

The rulers of the state are the only persons who ought to have the privilege of lying, either at home or abroad; they may be allowed to lie for the good of the state.

Hoover was a patriot in his heart, but he definitely exceeded his power.

We do not take away the powers of surveillance. We do not take away the right and the power of the government to go after those who would do us wrong.

There are a lot of things that have to be considered in National. The military aspect of it is only one of them. I'm confident that President Bush will have all of those things laid out for him before he makes the decision.

Never underestimate the power of the State to act out its own massive fantasies.

This is not going to be decided by public opinion polls. It is a national security issue.

An army abroad is of little use unless there are prudent counsels at home. Parvi enim sunt foris arma, nisi est consilium domi.

The next President's National Security Advisor ought to be an economist, instead of the usual military officer or arms control expert.

The management of foreign relations appears to be the most susceptible of abuse of all the trusts committed to a Government.