Quotations that are meaningful to Dan...These are some quotations that, in these difficult times, reflect my views and encourage me as a member of our nation's armed forces. May they do the same for you. George W. Bush, President of the United States, 11 September 2001 A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. George W. Bush, President of the United States, 20 September 2001 I have a message for our military: Be ready. I have called the armed forces to alert, and there is a reason. The hour is coming when America will act, and you will make us proud. Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, 7 Oct 2001 As the men and women of America's armed forces, you are the sharp sword of freedom. You fight without pause and without complaint, on foreign seas and in dangerous skies. You voluntarily sacrifice a life of ease and the comfort of your families, so that others may enjoy blessings and benefits of liberty. Your task will not be quick. It will not be easy. But your mission is clear, your cause is just, and the hearts and prayers of Americans and people everywhere who long for freedom are with you. To each of you, military and civilian, our gratitude and our prayers. Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy, 15 Oct 2001 Freedom in the world has one irreplaceable bulwark, the United States of America. Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, 18 Oct 2001 Each time we report on the progress of the war, we are talking about the accomplishments of young men and women, brave Americans who each day risk their lives so that the rest of us can live in freedom. Air Force Basic Doctrine Document 1 The overriding objective of any military force is to be prepared to conduct combat operations in support of national political objectives--to conduct the nation's wars. General Robert E. Lee Duty then is the sublimest word in the English language; you should do your duty in all things. You can never do more. You should never wish to do less. Ambrose Bierce Let us have a little less of "hands across the sea," and a little more of that elemental distrust that is the security of nations. War loves to come as a thief in the night; professions of eternal amity provide the night. Lao-Tzu Arms are instruments of ill omen. When one is compelled to use them, it is best to do so without relish. There is no glory in victory, and to glorify it despite this is to exult in the killing of men. When great numbers of people are killed, one should weep over them with sorrow. When victorious in war, one should observe mourning rites. Thomas Jefferson, letter to General Gates, 1801 Never let us do wrong, because our opponents did so. Let us, rather, by doing right, show them what they ought to have done, and establish a rule the dictates of reason and conscience, rather than of the angry passions. Senator John McCain, 26 Oct 2001 Veterans of war live forever with the memory of war's merciless nature, of the awful things that had to be done by their hand. They did not recoil from their terrible duty because they knew that the freedom they defended was worth dying and killing for. War is a miserable business. Let's get on with it. John Stuart Mill War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. George Orwell We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. Benjamin Franklin They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Thomas Paine Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it.
One Nation
Let Freedom Ring. |