Gresham Barrett Quotes

It is not every cause of war that should lead to war.

For sure, there are times when one may have no choice but to go to war, but it is never something to rush to or accept without exploring every other available option.

We wanted this war and now we've got it, and I'm not sure that we know what to do with it.

As a Korean War Veteran, I know too well the troubling nature of war. This is why I will always support a diplomatic answer before military intervention.

A sane person doesn't think war is a good idea. I'm not a pacifist. I feel that there are situations where fighting is inescapable, but we don't go looking for those things.

A sane person doesn't think war is a good idea.

The Senate is rushing to vote on whether to declare war on Iraq without pausing to ask why. Why is war being dealt with not as a last resort but as a first resort?

The United States will never take part in an aggressive war.

War should be not a war of choice; it should be a war of necessity. And it should be a last resort.

Wars of necessity are essentially unavoidable. They involve the most important national interests, a lack of promising alternatives to the use of force, and a certain and considerable price to be paid if the status quo is allowed to stand. Examples include World War II and the Korean War.

Lightly armed nations can move toward war just as easily as those which are armed to the teeth, and they will do so if the usual causes of war are not removed.

I also hear your president say that war is the means of last resort and I think he means that. I met him last autumn and he assured me that they wanted to come through and disarm Iraq by peaceful means, and that's what we are trying to do as hard as we can.

War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.

Though no one wants war, Congress needed to give the President the authority he needs to protect America while encouraging the use of diplomacy and negotiations to try and arrive at a peaceful solution to this problem.

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.

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

First, we could have defied both of them and could have gone to war against both of these nations for this violation of international law and interference with our neutral rights.

Either a war has to be fought, or it doesn't.

War is the ultimate tool of politics.

No war is inevitable until it breaks out.

If Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us anything in recent history, it is the unpredictability of war and that these things are easier to get into than to get out of, and, frankly, the facile way in which too many people talk about, 'Well, let's just go attack them.'

I think that war is diplomacy by other means, for sure, and there have been wars that have been fought for righteous reasons. There are wars that have had to be fought, and there will probably continue to be.

War is just when it is necessary; arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms.

People say, 'Surely there's the right reasons for going to war?' And my perspective is, 'Surely there's a better way of asking that question?'

Politicians do not enter into wars lightly. It is usually the military themselves who are keener to become involved.