Colin Powell Quotes

It is the earnest hope of our people that the world may see the day when all nuclear weapons are abolished.

Nuclear disarmament is one of the greatest legacies we can pass on to future generations.

We have a legal and moral obligation to rid our world of nuclear tests and nuclear weapons.

I want to move to a world of no nuclear weapons but I want to do that through multilateral disarmament so that we all disarm together.

For the United States to recommit itself to the obligation that we undertook in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that many other states undertook, which was to work towards disarmament and the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons, is something that manifestly serves our national security interests.

Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are not utopian ideals. They are critical to global peace and security.

There is a clear norm against the spread of nuclear weapons, but there is no consensus or treaty on what, if anything, is to be done once a country develops or acquires nuclear weapons.

I can't believe that this world can go on beyond our generation and on down to succeeding generations with this kind of weapon on both sides poised at each other without someday some fool or some maniac or some accident triggering the kind of war that is the end of the line for all of us. And I just think of what a sigh of relief would go up from everyone on this earth if someday-and this is what I have-my hope, way in the back of my head-is that if we start down the road to reduction, maybe one day in doing that, somebody will say, 'Why not all the way? Let's get rid of all these things'.

We have to get rid of those nuclear weapons.

It is my strong hope that an environment will be created in which both of our countries can cooperate for the realization of a world without nuclear weapons.

The issues and challenges surrounding nuclear non-proliferation are continuously evolving. They've changed dramatically at several junctures in recent memory.

After the Cold War ended, there was an agreement between the former Soviet Union and America to convert weapons-grade nuclear materials into reactor-grade materials. So disarmament and nuclear energy actually are strongly linked.

Everyone knows that Israel has nuclear weapons, but no one is talking about it. The world doesn't want nuclear weapons - not in Israel, not in the Middle East and not anywhere in the world.

We must take steps to prevent further nuclear weapons development or modernization.

Barack Obama has injected fresh momentum into efforts - stalled for a decade - to bring about nuclear disarmament.

We must eliminate all nuclear weapons in order to eliminate the grave risk they pose to our world. This will require persistent efforts by all countries and peoples. A nuclear war would affect everyone, and all have a stake in preventing this nightmare.

Since the end of the Cold War two main nuclear powers have begun to make big reductions in their nuclear arsenals. Each of them is dismantling about 2,000 nuclear warheads a year.

I think the American people are very smart in understanding our country is very trustworthy with nuclear weapons. We've had them from the beginning. But they have also been critical for keeping the world more at peace than it would have been if it hadn't been for the American nuclear umbrella.

We can do better than condone a world in which nuclear weapons are accepted as commonplace.

It may surprise people that the United States still has not explicitly renounced a policy of first use of nuclear weapons. If we really believe that no country should initiate a nuclear attack, why don’t we take the lead by making this our policy. It does not constrain us from responding to any attack.

There is an urgent need for disarmament of all kinds, but especially nuclear disarmament.

But beyond all that, the question that is continually begged is why isn't America leading the way toward total abolition of nuclear weapons.

On the nuclear issue, the first point is that the entire world must recognize that Iran does not seek a nuclear weapon, nor shall it seek a nuclear weapon.

You know, people have actually changed the way they think about nuclear weapons now, post-Cold War, post-9/11. The threat of nuclear weapons is not so much Russia attacking the United States, China. It's not a state-to-state - it's obviously terrorism; it's proliferation.

The fundamental premise is that neither the United States or the international community is going to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.