Theodore Roosevelt Quotes

Deterrence, of course, is all about the perception of power. It hinges on convincing adversaries that, with force, guile, or economic isolation, you can make the think twice about acting against American interests.

The fact that our largest presence in the world is our massive military is going to dictate how we engage with the world.

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

Condi Rice talks tough but she cannot be tough herself.

Influence is best measured not only by military hardware and GDP, but also by other people's perceptions that we, the United States, are using our power legitimately. That belief - that we are acting in the interests of the global commons and in accordance with the rule of law - is what the military would call a 'force multiplier.'

Diplomacy without military capability is nothing more than prayer.

In the international world, when General Electric walks into the room, the Sixth Fleet walks in behind them.

The voice and force of the United States may count for nothing if they are withheld too long.

Public diplomacy, practiced in harmony with traditional diplomacy, will enable us to advance our interest, to protect our security, and to continue to provide the moral basis for our leadership in the world.

Never before has the gap between American power and its legitimacy been so great.

There is a rank due to the United States among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure the peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.

There is no substitute - none - for American power.

America being a force is a lot more than building up the Defense Department.

Unlike President Obama, I would say that I support the long-standing bipartisan post-war belief that American global strength and leadership secures our national-security interests, and it also promotes order and stability in the world. And it gives us immense influence in the world and deters our adversaries and reassures our allies.

On foreign policy, Obama has talked softly and carried a big stick.

There is no substitute for American leadership and exceptionalism.

Not every threat to America's national interests can be addressed with military power.

When America is stronger, the world is safer.

We will continue to deepen our engagement using every element of American power - diplomacy, military, economic development, the power of our values and our ideals.

When Vladimir Putin runs up against American power and American criticism and American leadership that reminds him of what Russia isn't, when he runs up against people who he worries are funding his dissidents or supporting protests against him, when he runs up against criticism of the way he runs his own country, what he's running up against is the State Department.

I would say that I have been consistent in my broad view of how American power should be deployed, and the view that we underestimate our power when we restrict it to just our military power. We shortchange our influence and our ability to shape events when that's the only tool we think we have in the toolbox.

The United States is the Godfather when it establishes edicts. Others had better live up to them, or else. We have to demonstrate that. So that's what the bombing of Syria was to have demonstrated.

As we watch the world today, sometimes it seems that we're at the mercy of events instead of shaping events. And a strong America's essential to shape events, and a strong America, by the way, depends on a strong military.

America's leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.

It would be some time before I fully realized that the United States sees little need for diplomacy; power is enough. Only the weak rely on diplomacy. The Roman Empire had no need for diplomacy. Nor does the United States.