Will Rogers Quotes

Now that you're Secretary of War, what kind of an army do you think we ought to have?

The most important thing you need to know about the Pentagon is that it is not in charge of today's wars but rather tomorrow's wars.

To secure peace is to prepare for war.

It seems to me worth while for this Government to try whether it will not work on a large enough scale to be of use in the event of war.

The surest way to deter adversary aggression is to fully prepare for war.

You cannot prevent and prepare for war at the same time.

Defense is the first act of war.

I have every confidence in the ultimate success of our joint cause; but success in modern war requires something more than courage and a willingness to die: it requires careful preparation.

A people [America] that does not prepare to fight should then be morally prepared to surrender. To fail to prepare soldiers and citizens for limited, bloody ground action, and then to engage in it, is folly verging on the criminal.

It lies upon the people's shoulders to prepare for the war, but it lies upon the Israeli army to carry out the fight with the ultimate object of erecting the Israeli Empire.

We are a nation at war. This is also a time for hard choices. It's about ensuring that we are able to prevail in the conflicts in which we are now engaged. But it's also about being able to be strong and disciplined in applying our nation's limited resources to defending America.

The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

No nation ever had an army large enough to guarantee it against attack in time of peace, or ensure it of victory in time of war.

In time of peace prepare for war.

Getting our military back on stable footing won't happen overnight. We must start this process now, since future engagements are likely and allies are scarce.

I think the day you start building the war plan is the day you start beginning the postwar plan.

The firmest security of peace is the preparation during peace of the defenses of war.

The Commonwealth of Venice in their armoury have this inscription, "Happy is that city which in time of peace thinks of war.

The military mind always imagines that the next war will be on the same lines as the last.

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

What we can afford least is to define the problem of future war as we would like it to be and, by doing so, introduce into our defense vulnerabilities based on self-delusion.

Isn't it essential in any prelude to a war to be sure of your allies and be sure of your objectives?

And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

Striving for peace and preparing for war are incompatible with each other, and in our time more so than ever.

The implication that there was something wrong with the war plan is amusing.