"I am not proud of the part I played in it. I did it because it was necessary for the safety of this country. That's why I am such a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of war. Unfortunately limits — attempts to limit war have always failed. The lesson of history is when a war starts every nation will ultimately use whatever weapon it has available. ... Therefore, we must expect that if another war — a serious war — breaks out, we will use nuclear energy in some form."
React to this quote
More by Hyman G. Rickover
See allResonant Thoughts
"Strabo,... enters largely, in the Second Book of his Geography, into the opinions of Eratosthenes and other Greeks on one of the most difficult problems in geology, viz., by what causes marine shells …"
"I cannot...think it inconsistent with true Conservative policy, that we should...be engaged in trying to efface the recollections of the exploits of both countries in war, or extracting from those rec…"
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"I didn't advocate invasion…I wasn't asked."
— Donald Rumsfeld"The Arab and Islamic countries suffer from severe backwardness, and the Western world wants to make them ev…"
— Mahdi Akef"Global warming is a myth."
— Mike Pence"Has prostitution come to an end because of warnings against it?"
— Maneka Gandhi"I don’t have any pride, I’m sorry to say. I have zero pride in any award. All I feel is obligation, obligat…"
— Clair Cameron Patterson"If defense is the stronger form of war, yet has a negative object, it follows that it should be used only s…"
— Carl von Clausewitz