William Blackstone Quotes

Every nation has a right and duty to defend itself against unjust aggression. Offensive war of any kind is not morally justifiable.

No right can come by conquest, unless there were a right of making that conquest.

I feel like war should occur only for the most vital and necessary reasons, and only then.

The argument that someone is a bad man is an inadequate argument for war and certainly an inadequate and unacceptable argument for regime change.

There are only two cases in which war is just: first, in order to resist the aggression of an enemy, and second, in order to help an ally who has been attacked.

The only defensible war is a war of defense.

When a soldier goes to war he has to have a moral justification for killing the other side.

A rational fear of an imminent danger is said to be a justifiable cause of war.

The preemptive use of force has always been part of international law.

We draw the sword with a clear conscious and clean hands! Our invasion of Belgium is contrary to International Law, but this wrong – I speak openly – that we are committing – that we are committing – we will make right as soon as our military objective has been attained.

Some in my party threaten to send a message that they don't know a just war when they see it, and more broadly that they're not prepared to use our military strength to protect our security and the cause of freedom.

… it was not necessary to make any definition of "aggressor" or "self-defense." I do not think it can be done, anyway, accurately. They have been trying to do it in Europe for six or eight years, and they never have been able to accurately define " aggressor " or " self-defense.

The utterly fallacious idea at the heart of the pro-war argument is that it is the duty of the anti-war argument to provide an alternative to war. The onus is on them to explain just cause.

The Liberals have been pressing for the brief on the basis of which he said there was authority for war.

What I've learned, and will try to remember from now on, is that defending your country's credibility is never sufficient reason to fight a war.

There is such a thing as legitimate warfare: war has its laws; there are things which may fairly be done, and things which may not be done.

I think, unfortunately, we live in a world where people attack other people and I think a legitimate rationale for war is the saving of human life, the saving of lives of people who cannot defend themselves.

War, except in self-defense, is a failure of moral imagination.

Today, war of necessity is used by critics of military action to describe unavoidable response to an attack like that on Pearl Harbor that led to our prompt, official declaration of war, while they characterize as unwise wars of choice the wars in Korea, Vietnam and the current war in Iraq.

Are there really good wars and bad wars? We thought so during World War II, and in retrospect, we were right. But in Vietnam, and Iraq we were wrong.

War, in some instances, especially defensive, has been authorized by Heaven.

What is the 'noble cause' for which you sent our country to war?

The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis for our War on Terrorism.

Formerly, a nation that broke the peace did not trouble to try and prove to the world that it was done solely from higher motives…Now war has a bad conscience. Now every nation assures us that it is bleeding for a human cause, the fate of which hangs in the balance of its victory…No nation dares to admit the guilt of blood before the world.

For a war to be just, three conditions are necessary—public authority, just cause, right motive.