Political Quotes

On the recordOctober 18, 2023
Mr. President, Israel and the world are still reeling from the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7 that left somewhere around 1,400 Israelis and at least 31 Americans dead. In scale and scope, the attack carried echoes of our 9/11. And as on 9/11, life changed in an instant. I came down to the floor yesterday to talk about these attacks and the United States' commitment to standing with the Israeli people against terrorism. And today, I would like to talk about another important point these attacks raise: the importance of our national defense and military readiness. It has been said that ``Only the dead have seen the end of war.'' We live in a fallen world. And as long as we live in a fallen world, there will be evil men bent on aggression. And if we wish to continue living in peace and freedom, we must be always ready to defend against such men. Military preparedness is an essential and constant need. There is never a time where we can guarantee our peace and safety, and so there is never a time when we can afford to be ill-prepared to defend our peace and safety. As citizens of the United States--an immense country with a reputation for military strength--it can be easy to become complacent and to assume that we will always be able to deter or defeat attacks, but that is a dangerous assumption. As strong as we are, we are not invulnerable, and we are not the only great power out there.…
Said by
John Thune
Republican · South Dakota

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