Force Usage Quotes

Military intervention is to be considered when all else fails.

I believe with all my heart that our first priority must be world peace, and that use of force is always and only a last resort, when everything else has failed, and then only with regard to our national security.

When you join the CIA, you have to make some peace with whether you are comfortable psychologically and philosophically, with the use of force and using it clandestinely.

Moscow believes that using force constitutes strategic defense.

Any time you use military force, you have got to have a clear purpose that military forces can achieve.

There's a very heavy burden of proof to be borne by anyone who calls for violence. Maybe it can be sometimes justified. Personally, I'm not a committed pacifist, so I think that, yes, it can sometimes be justified.

I am constantly challenged by pessimists who insist that military solutions are the only way to go. This was true in the 1980s, and it is true today. You should know that I do not consider myself a pacifist; there are times, in my view, when military action may be necessary.

A credible threat of force is only as good as the political will to use it.

We have to work to make sure that our police are using the best training, the best techniques, that they're well prepared to use force only when necessary.

What China would do, I cannot predict. China has all but given up the claim to the use of force, except in the circumstance of Taiwan declaring its independence. That is a huge step forward over what the situation was many years ago.

If force must be used, it will be used suddenly, massively and decisively.

Responding to terrorism inevitably implies military consequences. This may shock some people, but these groups must also be dealt with on a military footing. I won't use the word 'combat' to avoid being painted as a crusader.

Although care must be taken not to kill or injure anyone while these persons are being taken into custody, resistance must be broken!

Sometimes there is no substitute for military action.

The more force used, the less effective it is.

They act as they please: here and there, they use force against sovereign states, building coalitions based on the principle 'If you are not with us, you are against us.' To make this aggression look legitimate, they force the necessary resolutions from international organizations, and if for some reason this does not work, they simply ignore the UN Security Council and the UN overall.

If we go back in the history of different nations, violence and the use of force are part of their heritage. These are the traditions of mankind.

Strong leadership demands more than the willingness to use force. It means directing the use of the right tools at the right time for the right purpose and the right cause.

The world is ruled by force, not by opinion; but opinion uses force.

The most fundamental paradox is that if we're never to use force, we must be prepared to use it and to use it successfully. We Americans don't want war and we don't start fights. We don't maintain a strong military force to conquer or coerce others. The purpose of our military is simple and straightforward: we want to prevent war.

Do not know what to do. I will remain passive until I hear from you. I do not believe calling out the militia will avail anything towards restoring peace, unless they were called out in such force as to fight the Mormons & drive them from the country. This would satisfy this people, but I cannot agree to it. I hold myself ready to execute, as far as I can go, any order from you, and wish you to advise the Commander-in-Chief as to the situation of the upper country. Perhaps a visit from him would have some effect in allaying the excitement

Iran has not invaded any other country. We have not threatened to use force. Just exactly the opposite of Israel. Israel threatens to use force against Iran almost on a daily basis. And it has a record.

I have always held the view that decisive force should be used in addressing a military conflict. The reason is simple: Why wouldn't you, if you could?

To state that lethal force should not be used without a proper legal justification is to state the obvious.