Ronald Reagan Quotes

There are some who've forgotten why we have a military. It's not to promote war, it's to be prepared for peace.

Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we maintain this strength in the hope it will never be used.

I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place

Any idea that you can have a league for security is nuts, and all people who favor it are potential murderers… as long as man is man, there will be war and the only way to avoid trouble is to have the best army and navy, which we now have.

There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy.

I believe in peace through strength. I would prefer to rely on the military rather than diplomats to protect our homes.

A certain degree of preparation for war ... affords also the best security for the continuance of peace.

We must never forget why we have, and why we need our military. Our armed forces exist solely to ensure our nation is safe, so that each and every one of us can sleep soundly at night, knowing we have 'guardians at the gate.'

To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.

I certainly don't like a label that suggests I believe that the military is the solution to most of the world's problems.

Our country has never started a war. Our sole objective is deterrence, the strength and capability it takes to prevent war.

We must have universal military training because the one hope for a peaceful world is a powerful America… with adequate means to instantly check aggressors.

The best war is the one that doesn’t have to be fought, and the best military is the one capable and versatile enough to deter the next war in the first place.

The American people like a President who is for peace, but they also want to know that he is ready to kill.

The Mutual Security Act was intended not to fight a war but to prevent a war.

As head of a military structure I am responsible for the realization of military issues. If you want to have everlasting peace, you must be ready for war. We must be ready to face any provocation.

If we have the intent to use the military only when needed, then that also becomes, then, therefore, a credible deterrent.

A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace.

The most fundamental paradox is that if we're never to use force, we must be prepared to use it and to use it successfully. We Americans don't want war and we don't start fights. We don't maintain a strong military force to conquer or coerce others. The purpose of our military is simple and straightforward: we want to prevent war.

History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. To keep the peace, we and our allies must be strong enough to convince any potential aggressor that war could bring no benefit, only disaster.

The truth is, that the military people are so important to our country.

I considered the prevention of war as the test of our security policy; in addition to being able to rapidly and forcefully end any war forced upon us.

America has never gotten in a war because we were too strong.

I think war and armed conflict is always the last of all the options you have on the table. I think you try to avoid that at all costs. Sometimes it's unavoidable. That's the lesson of World War II. I think the other lesson of the last 50 or 60 years, however, is that, the stronger the U.S. military, the stronger our defense capabilities, the stronger the chances for peace are.

I am the most militaristic person but you have to know when to use the military. Or have it so strong that nobody is going to mess with you, which is my ultimate goal.