“We are fully aware that war is not the only way to defend our values. But if those values are fundamentally endangered, as is the case today, then war is the only way to defend them. Everything that hinders us in our effort to defend ourselves is an injustice. We did not want this war, it was thrust upon us, like all others. Defending one's people is a holy duty”

From interview with Robert Block, 1995
Interviews (1993 – 1995)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 25, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We are fully aware that war is not the only way to defend our values. But if those values are fundamentally endangered,…" by Ratko Mladić?
Ratko Mladić photo
Ratko Mladić 14
Commander of the Bosnian Serb military 1943

Related quotes

Barack Obama photo
Barack Obama photo

“We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2013, Second Inaugural Address (January 2013)
Context: We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.  We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully –- not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe.  And we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.  And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice –- not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity, human dignity and justice.

Stanley Baldwin photo

“I would say that we are the only defenders left of liberty in a world of Fascists. … these fascists and communists are the successors today of the wars of the sects.”

Stanley Baldwin (1867–1947) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Conversation with Thomas Jones (27 February 1934), quoted in Thomas Jones, A Diary with Letters. 1931-1950 (Oxford University Press, 1954), p. 124.
1934

Samuel Adams photo

“The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”

Samuel Adams (1722–1803) American statesman, Massachusetts governor, and political philosopher

Essay, written under the pseudonym "Candidus," in The Boston Gazette (14 October 1771), later published in The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams (1865) by William Vincent Wells, p. 425
Context: The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv'd them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas'd them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle; or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. Of the latter we are in most danger at present: Let us therefore be aware of it. Let us contemplate our forefathers and posterity; and resolve to maintain the rights bequeath'd to us from the former, for the sake of the latter. — Instead of sitting down satisfied with the efforts we have already made, which is the wish of our enemies, the necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance. Let us remember that "if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom." It is a very serious consideration, which should deeply impress our minds, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event.

Serzh Sargsyan photo

“We hear warmongering every day, every day we hear threats and attempts to scare us… We don’t want war and never wanted, but at that time [i. e. during Nagorno-Karabakh war] we had to defend our Motherland. If the time comes again, this time our blow will be final and deadly.”

Serzh Sargsyan (1954) Armenian politician, 3rd President of Armenia

President Serzh Sargsyan speaks after the military exercises http://www.president.am/events/news/eng/?pn=16&id=1304 (November 11, 2010)

J. William Fulbright photo
Lewis Mumford photo

“Humor is our way of defending ourselves from life's absurdities by thinking absurdly about them.”

Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic
Vasily Grossman photo

“We would only multiply the number of victims. Our duty is to strengthen the state and defend the people, why, then, should we publish your book.”

Vasily Grossman (1905–1964) Soviet writer and journalist who originally trained as an engineer

1960s

Tony Blair photo

“It is important that those engaged in terrorism realise that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world.”

Tony Blair (1953) former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Trevor Kavanagh, "We shall prevail .. terrorists shall not", The Sun, 8 July 2005, p. 18
7 July 2005, statement from Scotland's Gleneagles Hotel, in response to the terrorist attack on the London Underground.
2000s

George W. Bush photo

Related topics