Ronen Bergman Quotes

The President has full responsibility, which cannot be shared, for military decisions in a world in which the difference between safety and cataclysm can be a matter of hours or even minutes.

General Petraeus is not a miracle worker. He can not be successful unless the president creates greater confidence within his own team about the decisions which the president has himself made.

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

War is often about making the least-worst decision. The same could be said about politics. But the stakes are higher in war, when the commander-in-chief is called upon to defend the nation.

President Obama has never summarized the Obama Doctrine with such clarity, but here is what it would look like: 'I will undertake any military attack against our enemies, regardless of the risks and collateral damage, so long as it is over by the time I have to announce it.'

Pat Roberts and I both feel very strongly that when we get to Iran, that we can't make the same mistakes. We have to ask the questions, the hard questions before, not afterwards, and get the right intelligence.

People (political and military leaders) much prefer to speak of what they are going to do rather than what the outcome will be.

Those who are to conduct a war cannot in the nature of things, be proper and safe judges of whether a war ought to be commenced, continued or concluded.

Military decisions are much more difficult and more often wrong than civilian decisions.

Political considerations can be taken into account only as long as they do not make demands that are militarily improper or impossible.

Every decision to use military force is an excruciatingly difficult one.

What I'm saying is it is our responsibility to exercise due diligence, to ask the tough questions, to get the evidence before we make those very costly decisions about how and when and where our military is used.

Rushing to war is not a wise course of action.

Commanders-in-chief make really tough decisions.

If you don’t have a good idea of what to do next after using military force, then don’t use it in the first place.

War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.

If we engage in a conflict that we know this is a threat to America, we should make it so one-sided that it gets over very quickly.

War is too serious a matter to leave to soldiers.

I think there has to be greater heed paid by the Security Council members to military advice.

I'm just very wary that once you start military operations in any country, it's very difficult to predict what the outcome is.

Presidents do not go into war lightly. It's a tremendous responsibility in making decisions, and I know Bush must deeply believe this is the only course.

From a very strategic level, I believe the military is part of the solution to better outcomes around the world, but at a higher level, it's really about economies.

I believe in a strong national defense. But it's my belief that neither Iraq nor Afghanistan poses a threat to national security, and we shouldn't be involved in either area.

To secure peace is to prepare for war.

Fortunately, President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy disagreed with the estimate and chose a course of action less ambitious and aggressive than recommended by their advisers.