We know that in tough times, cynicism is just another way to give up, and in the military, we consider cynicism or giving up simply as forms of cowardice.

In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?

When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred.

The Corps is in good hands, and it’s been a privilege to serve with the Leathernecks. Now it’s time to go.

A private soldier has as much right to justice as a major-general.

We’re so immaturely cynical as a culture. We’re not wise enough to look at an institution like marriage and to really things about what it means and what it signifies. It signifies a place where people can tie the ropes of their lives together so that they’re stronger. It signifies a place where people can tell the truth to one another.

Our combat mission is ending, but our commitment to Iraq’s future is not.

Pakistan will never be able to match the Indian militarily, and the effort to do so is taking an immense toll on the society.

My decision to register women confirms what is already obvious throughout our society-that women are now providing all types of skills in every profession. The military should be no exception.

War is the continuation of politics by other means.

If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business, because we’d be cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.

I am the commander in chief of the United States armed forces, and Iraq is gonna have to ultimately provide for its own security.

We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.

We give speeches and pin ribbons onto uniforms, etch names into walls. And all that is fine, but too often, all those tributes, all those words aren’t always backed up by action. And that felt like such a stark contrast to me, because, as we all know, our military is all about action.

When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war.

When soldiers have been baptized in the fire of a battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes.

I’ve had some ‚riotous excursions of the human spirit‘ alongside the young Sailors and Marines, and it’s time to leave the stage to the young leaders who got their rank the old-fashioned way – they earned their stripes in combat.

The army teaches boys to think like men.

Free institutions certainly exist, but a tradition of passivity and conformism restricts their use – a cynic might say that this is why they continue to exist.

I would storm the gates of Hell if Third Marine Air Wing was overhead.

No other country in the world does what we do. On every issue, the world turns to us, not simply because of the size of our economy or our military might – but because of the ideals we stand for, and the burdens we bear to advance them.

The United States tyrannizes and pillages the globalized world with its political, economic, technological, and military might.

What I’m asking for is hard. It’s easier to be cynical; to accept that change isn’t possible, and politics is hopeless, and to believe that our voices and actions don’t matter. But if we give up now, then we forsake a better future.

Let me tell you what I literally told every world leader I’ve met with, and I’ve met them all: It’s never, never, never been a good bet to bet against America. We have the finest fighting force in the world.

The British soldier can stand up to anything except the British War Office.

Giving back involves a certain amount of giving up.

Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.

Demonstrate to the world, there is ‚No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy‘ than a U.S. Marine.

When Hillary served in the Senate, I saw her work day and night as a member of the Armed Services Committee – working with Republicans and Democrats to keep our military strong and protect our troops and their families.

In cricket, my superhero is Sachin Tendulkar. He has always been my hero and will continue to remain so. Apart from him and outside cricket, my mother has remained my inspiration. Whatever difficult time I had faced, she was always there for me. She has given me all the strength. She maintained her composure and supported me in tough times.

War – An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will.

Humor is the most engaging cowardice.

Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.

A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.

Falsehood is cowardice, the truth courage.

I think I hate cynicism more than anything else. It’s the curse of our age, and I want to avoid it at all costs.

Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their country.

The press is still investing itself, it seems to me, in a sort of cynicism. It comes out better for them if they can predict hard times, bogging down, sniping, attrition.

One of the good things about the way the Gulf War ended in 1991 is, you’d see the Vietnam veterans marching with the Gulf War veterans.

I think with the Romans, that the general of today should be a soldier tomorrow if necessary.

You can always tell an old soldier by the inside of his holsters and cartridge boxes. The young ones carry pistols and cartridges; the old ones, grub.

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.

So long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known. When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you’ve served us – because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they need when they come home.

Waking up early was the first example I noticed in the SEAL Teams in which discipline was really the difference between being good and being exceptional.

I did 20 years in the Navy. I joined the Navy right out of high school and went through Navy boot camp, went to SEAL training, got done with that, and then showed up at a SEAL team, where I did 20 years. That was pretty much my whole adult life.

There are many people who do not know if the U.S. Army has 60,000 men or 6 million. They do not have a clue about that.

Some of the generals are saying, ‚We’re making progress. We are clearing an area.‘ But you really don’t defeat the Taliban by clearing an area. They move.

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

Blacks have had to learn to protect themselves by being cynical but not cynical enough to slam the door on potential opportunities. We go through life walking a tightrope to prevent too much disillusionment.

I’m not an expert on the arms race.

These people are very unskilled in arms… with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished.

I like quips. I like whiffs of cynicism and I think they can be witty. But I don’t really know where wittiness is constructive.

Cynicism is something which has become symbolic of imperial policy.

The atomic bomb certainly is the most powerful of all weapons, but it is conclusively powerful and effective only in the hands of the nation which controls the sky.

A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.

For all the supporters of Tesla over the years, and it’s been several years now and there have been some very tough times, I’d just like to say thank you very much. I deeply appreciate the support, particularly through the darkest times.

There are people with otherwise chaotic and disorganized lives, a certain type of person that’s always found a home in the restaurant business in much the same way that a lot of people find a home in the military.

Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.

Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them.

People in tough times – it doesn’t mean they don’t have a great attitude.