If we think of what's up ahead, with climate change and wars over water, it's very frightening.
Nothing binds a people to their leader like a common enemy. Voters don't change governments during war.
Frankly, I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private industry.
The fact is that America has been at her most prosperous when government and the private sector have been not at war, but in a wary, if often underplayed, alliance. History is unmistakable on this point.
But it is neither cannon nor bayonet that will do the worst damage to this city. No, this place will remember the war against our government just as long as there are inhabitants here.
Despite failing to get bin Laden, the U.S. government and media portrayed the early Afghanistan war as a great victory.
From 1836, down to last year, there is no proof of the Government having any confidence in the duration of peace, or possessing increased security against war.
Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.
My point was that the war was intrinsically wrong, and as a result of our participation we haven't improved Australia's security but created a greater danger at home and abroad.
No, let's make sure that people understand that this is a very important war that is helping to protect us here at home. And that we have no choice but to win it. As difficult as it is.
I extend my deepest gratitude to our Armed Forces and first responders serving both at home and abroad in the war against terrorism.
We have sent our troops to war without paying for it. Now, we are bringing them home without saying how we are paying for it.
These are challenging times for all Americans. We face the specter of war abroad and a steady stream of bad economic news at home.
How do I feel about war? Well anybody I guess, I hope, I don't like it.
The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with discretion.
For the first time in history, we declared war without financing it. Americans have not been asked to pay for it through taxes.
A trillion dollars spent, 2,000 American lives lost - Afghanistan is the longest war in American history. But you don't hear a word about it.
If the war has faded into history, democracy's defeat in Vietnam has left deep marks in the consciousness of both nations.
History offers no evidence for the proposition that the assignment of women to military combat jobs is the way to win wars, improve combat readiness, or promote national security.
I'm a military kid, both parents in the military - Mom did 12 years, Dad did 21, served in two wars. So discipline is something that was huge.
Dad entered the Second World War like any other man, trying to do the right thing.
