“I seem to vaguely remember a time when America had confidence. And guts. And soldiers fighting a war didn’t need to be given “permission” to defend themselves from enemies trying to kill them.”

— Charles Foster Johnson

January 26, 2007 http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24149_US_Troops_Have_Permission_Not_to_Be_Killed_By_Iranians&only

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I seem to vaguely remember a time when America had confidence. And guts. And soldiers fighting a war didn’t need to be …" by Charles Foster Johnson?

Charles Foster Johnson 49

American musician 1953

Related quotes

“Soldiers defending a country at war are not subject to the rules of procedure designed for court trials. For example, if a soldier encounters an enemy, under internationally agreed upon rules of war, that soldier can take whatever action is necessary to protect himself and neutralize his enemy, whether it involves capturing and detaining the enemy or killing him on the spot.”

John Ashcroft (1942) American politician

Source: Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice (2006), p. 181

“After our victory in Afghanistan and the defeat of the oppressors who had killed millions of Muslims, the legend about the invincibility of the superpowers vanished. Our boys no longer viewed America as a superpower. So, when they left Afghanistan, they went to Somalia and prepared themselves carefully for a long war. They had thought that the Americans were like the Russians, so they trained and prepared. They were stunned when they discovered how low was the morale of the American soldier. America had entered with 30,000 soldiers in addition to thousands of soldiers from different countries in the world. … As I said, our boys were shocked by the low morale of the American soldier and they realized that the American soldier was just a paper tiger.”

Osama bin Laden (1957–2011) founder of al-Qaeda

1990s, ABC interview (1998)

“They [Americans] have something worth defending…they need to defend it properly from the foe that most people are afraid even to name. How can you possibly fight an enemy when you're afraid to identify him?”

Robert Spencer (1962) American author and blogger

Robert Spencer talking about identifying Islamic extremists, Michelle interviews Robert Spencer about Religion of Peace: Why Christianity is and Islam Isn’t, 2007-08-13 http://hotair.com/archives/2007/08/13/new-vent-michelle-interviews-robert-spencer-about-religion-of-peace-why-christianity-is-and-islam-isnt/,

“I have given instructions that I be informed every time one of our soldiers is killed, even if it is in the middle of the night. When President Nasser leaves instructions that he is to be awakened in the middle of the night if an Egyptian soldier is killed, there will be peace.”

Golda Meir (1898–1978) former prime minister of Israel

Source: https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=iFsKDzuRfNkC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=I+have+given+instructions+that+I+be+informed+every+time+one+of+our+soldiers+is+killed,+even+if+it+is+in+the+middle+of+the+night.+When+President+Nasser+leaves+instructions+that+he+is+to+be+awakened+in+the+middle+of+the+night+if+an+Egyptian+soldier+is+killed,+there+will+be+peace.&source=bl&ots=uyEzv-aQ4v&sig=ee9r_1Rchk34xECFV2PoqgnTLYk&hl=es-419&sa=X&ei=_ZOgVNjyBZKDNsT6gbAL&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=I%20have%20given%20instructions%20that%20I%20be%20informed%20every%20time%20one%20of%20our%20soldiers%20is%20killed%2C%20even%20if%20it%20is%20in%20the%20middle%20of%20the%20night.%20When%20President%20Nasser%20leaves%20instructions%20that%20he%20is%20to%20be%20awakened%20in%20the%20middle%20of%20the%20night%20if%20an%20Egyptian%20soldier%20is%20killed%2C%20there%20will%20be%20peace.&f=false

“We don't like to kill our unborn, we need them to grow up and fight our wars.”

Marilyn Manson (1969) American rock musician and actor

" We're From America http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/marilynmanson/werefromamerica.html".
2000s, The High End of Low (2009)

“The significance of the Falklands War was enormous, both for Britain's self-confidence and for our standing in the world…We had come to be seen by both friends and enemies as a nation which lacked the will and the capability to defend its interests in peace, let alone in war. Victory in the Falklands changed that. Everywhere I went after the war, Britain's name meant something more than it had. The war also had real importance in relations between East and West: years later I was told by a Russian general that the Soviets had been firmly convinced that we would not fight for the Falklands, and that if we did fight we would lose. We proved them wrong on both counts, and they did not forget the fact.”

Margaret Thatcher book The Downing Street Years

The Downing Street Years (1993)

“The enemy is radical Islam. You can't get around it. And not only will I name the enemy, I will do whatever it takes to defend America from these haters of mankind.”

Rand Paul (1963) American politician, ophthalmologist, and United States Senator from Kentucky

2015-04-07
Rand Paul announces presidential bid with promises of 'liberty and limited government'
Paul
Lewis
Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/07/rand-paul-announces-2016-presidential-bid-website
2015-04-08
2010s

“We won this fight because everyone made themselves the hero of their own story. Everyone took it as their job to save this crucial freedom. They threw themselves into it. They did whatever they could think of to do. They didn’t stop to ask anyone for permission.”

Aaron Swartz (1986–2013) computer programmer and internet-political activist

Freedom to Connect speech (2012)
Context: We won this fight because everyone made themselves the hero of their own story. Everyone took it as their job to save this crucial freedom. They threw themselves into it. They did whatever they could think of to do. They didn’t stop to ask anyone for permission. … The senators were right: The Internet really is out of control. But if we forget that, if we let Hollywood rewrite the story so it was just big company Google who stopped the bill, if we let them persuade us we didn’t actually make a difference, if we start seeing it as someone else’s responsibility to do this work and it’s our job just to go home and pop some popcorn and curl up on the couch to watch Transformers, well, then next time they might just win. Let’s not let that happen.

“It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, defend against them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

“Clavain had been a soldier. He had killed more people than he could remember, even though those days had been a long time ago. It was really a lot less difficult to do when you had a cause to believe in.”

Alastair Reynolds (1966) British novelist and astronomer

Glacial (p. 102)
Short fiction, Galactic North (2006)

“I seem to vaguely remember a time when America had confidence. And guts. And soldiers fighting a war didn’t need to be given “permission” to defend themselves from enemies trying to kill them.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Charles Foster Johnson 49

Related quotes

Related topics