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America is a country of fighters. People who fought their way in and then continued fighting.

History demonstrates that previous military drawdowns invited aggression by our enemies. After World War I, America drew down forces until the U.S. Army had fewer than 100,000 men in uniform. That weakness invited Nazi aggression in Europe and the imperial Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.

The United States has to have the capability to deal with more than one enemy at one time and be able to confront them and win.

The great armies, accumulated to provide security and preserve the peace, carried the nations to war by their own weight.

I believe that this is a different war than America has ever fought in the past. It is a non-conventional war. It means that you've got to use every tool you've got available to you.

The only defensible war is a war of defense.

Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.

It was essentially for self defence that we went to war in Afghanistan and would go to war in Iraq.

The prescription for endless war poses a far greater danger to Americans than perceived enemies do, for reasons the terrorist organisations understand very well.

The strength of our economy allows us to maintain the mightiest military in the world, effectively enforcing a Pax Americana.