"There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others." ― Niccolo Machiavelli Topic(s): War Tags: avoiding, there More From Niccolo Machiavelli "A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example." "Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others." "Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great." More In War "I will not attempt to deny the reasonableness and necessity of a party war; but in carrying on that war all principles and rules of justice should not be departed from."― Robert Walpole "From our perspective, trying to deal with this continuing campaign of terror, if you will, the war on terror that we’re engaged in, this is a continuing enterprise. The people that were involved in some of those activities before 9/11 are still out there."― Dick Cheney "When I was a youngster growing up in South Dakota, we never referred to the national debt, it was always referred to as the war debt because it stemmed from World War I."― George McGovern