“The military forces of the revolutionary adversary are diffuse. One is never sure whether one has destroyed them unless one is ready to destroy a large portion of the population, and this usually conflicts with the political aim of the war and hence also violates a fundamental Clausewitzian principle.” WarPoliticalForcePrinciplesMilitaryReadyConflictAimFundamentalsPopulationDestroyedRevolutionaryPortionsAdversariesMilitary Force Author:Anatol Rapoport
“Beneath a free government there is nothing but the intelligence of the people to keep the people's peace. Order must be preserved, not by a military police or regiments of horse-guards, but by the spontaneous concert of a well-informed population, resolved that the rights which have been rescued from despotism shall not be subverted by anarchy.” PeopleWellsHas BeensGovernmentOrderRightsMilitaryHorsePolicePopulationConcertsAnarchySpontaneousDespotismFree GovernmentMilitary Police Book:Orations and Speeches on Various Occasions Source: Orations and Speeches on Various Occasions
“Throughout history civilian populations and political rulers have talked of peace. We have never been free of war. The soldier, whose profession is war, understands that peace must be enforced by superior military might. The certainty of defeat is the only effective deterrent we can use to maintain peace. Furthermore, we can be strong without being aggressive.” WarUseMightPoliticalStrongMilitaryDefeatSoldierPopulationProfessionSuperiorsCertaintyAggressiveRulersCiviliansDeterrent Author:Barry Goldwater
“Democracy entails a correlation between the public interest as expressed by a majority of the population and the governmental policies that affect them. The term encompasses various manifestations, including direct, participatory and representative democracy, but Governments must be responsive to people and not to special interests such as the military-industrial complex, financial bankers and transnational corporations. Democracy is inclusive and does not privilege an anthropological aristocracy.” PeopleDoeGovernmentTermInterestDemocracySpecialMilitaryPolicyDirectMajorityComplexesIncludingFinancialPrivilegePopulationVariousCorporationsManifestationRepresentativesBankersAristocracySpecial InterestsCorrelationPublic InterestMilitary Industrial ComplexTransnational Corporations Author:Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
“Every democracy must involve civil society in the process of establishing budgets, and all sectors of society must be consulted to determine what the real priorities of the population are. Lobbies, including military contractors and other representatives of the military-industrial complex, must not be allowed to hijack these priorities to the detriment of the population's real needs.” NeedsRealProcessDemocracyMilitaryComplexesIncludingPopulationDeterminePrioritiesBudgetsRepresentativesCivil SocietyMilitary Industrial ComplexContractor Author:Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
“The military struggle may frankly be regarded for what it actually was, namely a war for independence, an armed attempt to imposethe views of the revolutionists upon the British government and large sections of the colonial population at whatever cost to freedom of opinion or the sanctity of life and property.” MayWarGovernmentViewsOpinionStruggleMilitaryCostIndependencePropertyPopulationBritishSectionsSanctitySanctity Of LifeBritish Government Author:Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
“During the first campaign, one of my jobs as my husband's spouse was to travel around the country and really listen to women. There were voices that were new to me: the voices of military spouses, many of them women, and veterans.... I was overwhelmed by their challenges, and the notion that we as a country don't even know that these women exist, because we live in a country where one percent of the population protects the rights and freedoms of the other 99 percent of us. I thought that if I had the opportunity to serve as First Lady, I was going to use this platform to be their voice.” IfsKnowsFirstsCountryUseJobsOpportunityVoiceChallengesRightsMilitaryProtectHusbandPercentNotionPopulationCampaignsMy HusbandPlatformsSpouseVeteranOverwhelmedFirst LadyRights And FreedomsMilitary Spouse Author:Michelle Obama
“Military inclusion has never been a central demand from trans populations, who consistently name criminalization, immigration enforcement, poverty and joblessness as top priorities.” NamesPovertyMilitaryDemandPopulationPrioritiesImmigrationInclusionConsistentlyEnforcementJoblessnessTransTop Priorities Author:Dean Spade
“I am extremely proud of our remarkable men and women who serve in our military, but the reality is that this is a shrinking percentage of the American population. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a growing disconnect between our military and civilian population. At one time, we had participation from nearly every American. Victory gardens, metal collections, saving stamps and bonds-everyone did their part to support our military. We simply don't do that anymore.” MenRealitySupportGrowingMilitaryProudVictoryMen And WomenGardenPopulationSavingCollectionsRemarkableOne TimeMetalsParticipationStampsPercentagesCiviliansShrinking Author:Don Young
“Yes. The all-volunteer force is comprised of a very small percentage of the population. Therefore, fewer citizens have a personal interest in military matters and are not personally impacted.” MatterForceInterestMilitaryCitizensPopulationFewerVolunteerPercentagesPersonal Interest Author:Sanford Bishop
“Yes and no. Because America has only about 1 percent of the population serving in the military, it is hard for many civilians to understand the sacrifices military families make. However, my experience is that after the Vietnam War, the public learned that they should support the military whether or not they support the war. You've seen that outpouring of support for the veterans of both Iraq and Afghanistan.” ShouldWarHardAmericaSupportSacrificeMilitaryPercentIraqPopulationServingAfghanistanVietnamVeteranCiviliansVietnam WarYes And NoMilitary FamilyServing In The Military Author:Steve Stivers
“[I]t's impossible to evade the fact that Endless War will inevitably degrade the citizenry of the country that engages in it. A country which venerates its military above all other institutions, which demands that its soldiers be spoken of only with religious-like worship, and which continuously indoctrinates its population to believe that endless violence against numerous countries is necessary and just - all by instilling intense fear of the minorities who are the target of that endless violence - will be a country filled with citizens convinced of the virtues and nobility of aggression.” BelieveWarCountryFactsReligiousVirtueViolenceImpossibleMilitaryCitizensDemandWorshipInstitutionsFilledSoldierPopulationConvincedEndlessIntenseMinoritiesTargetAggressionNobilityDegradeCitizenryEndless War Author:Glenn Greenwald
“The population becomes the internal enemy. Any sign of life, of protest, or even mere doubt, is a dangerous challenge from the standpoint of military doctrine and national security. So complicated mechanisms of prevention adn punishment have been developed ... To operate effectively, the repression must appear arbitrary. Apart from breathing, any human activity can constitute a crime ... State terrorism aims to paralyze the population with fear.” HumansHas BeensStatesChallengesEnemyDoubtSecurityMilitaryDangerousCrimeActivityAimMerePopulationComplicatedTerrorismPunishmentDoctrineBreathingInternalsProtestMechanismNational SecurityArbitraryRepressionStandpointPreventionHuman ActivitySigns Of Life Author:Eduardo Galeano
“Europe is slow to react, it is lagging behind in competitiveness, there are problems with demography, population, serious problems with security, internal security and military capabilities.” ProblemBehindsSecurityMilitarySeriousEuropePopulationInternalsCapabilityCompetitivenessDemography Author:Viktor Orban
“The collective shortfall of the 3.08 billion people (47 percent of world population) who, in 2005, lived below $2.50 per day was $507 billion per annum, which indeed comes to about two-thirds of the present US military budget. This gives us a rough sense of how much the eradication of poverty would cost.” PeopleWorldGivingTwoPovertyMilitaryCostPercentThirdsPopulationBillionsBudgetsCollectivesRoughWorld PopulationUs MilitaryMilitary Budget Author:Thomas Pogge