Defensive Quotes

Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism have reduced the pace of military transformation and have revealed our lack of preparation for defensive and stability operations. This Administration has overextended our military. (Barack Obama)
Carry the battle to them. Don't let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don't ever apologize for anything. View quote
Harry S. Truman
I've learned you can make a mistake and the whole world doesn't end. I had to learn to allow myself to make a mistake without becoming defensive and unforgiving. View quote
Lisa Kudrow
It's a natural thing for people to say, you know, Who's in this book? I find myself get ting a little defensive. People come along and I'm waiting for that first question. View quote
Hugh Leonard
To me death is better than the defensive. View quote
Alexander Suvorov
The more defensive a society, the more conformist. View quote
Ursula K. Le Guin
We must make this campaign an exceedingly active one. Only thus can a weaker country cope with a stronger; it must make up in activity what it lacks in strength. A defensive campaign can only be made successful by taking the aggressive at the proper time. Napoleon never waited for his adversary to become fully prepared, but struck him the first blow. View quote
Stonewall Jackson
The Communist Party and the Soviet Government display constant concern to strengthen the country's defensive might and raise the combat readiness of the Armed Forces. View quote
Andrei Grechko
Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. View quote
George Orwell
There is something inherently wrong, something out of accord with the ideals of representative democracy, when one portion of our citizenship turns its activities to private gain amid defensive war while another is fighting, sacrificing, or dying for national preservation. View quote
Warren G. Harding
Anti-Islamist Muslims - who wish to live modern lives, unencumbered by burqas, fatwas and violent visions of jihad - are on the defensive and atomized. However eloquent, their individual voices cannot compete with the roar of militant Islam's determination, money (much of it from overseas) and violence. As a result, militant Islam, with its West-phobia and goal of world hegemony, dominates Islam in the West and appears to many to be the only kind of Islam. (Daniel Pipes)
And capital punishment, however ineffective it may be and through whatever ignorance it may be resorted to, is a strictly defensive act, - at least in theory. View quote
Benjamin Tucker
Changing from the defensive to the offensive, is one of the most delicate operations in war. View quote
Napoleon Bonaparte
These are the strategic dialectics of anti-imperialist struggle: through the defensive reactions of the system, the escalation of counterrevolution, the transformation of the political martial law into military martial law, the enemy betrays himself, becomes visible. View quote
Ulrike Meinhof
I used to feel defensive when people would say, 'Yes, but your books have happy endings', as if that made them worthless, or unrealistic. Some people do get happy endings, even if it's only for a while. I would rather never be published again than write a downbeat ending. View quote
Marian Keyes
Much of the time, the things we feel guilty about are not our issues. Another person behaves inappropriately or in some way violates our boundaries. We challenge the behavior, and the person gets angry and defensive. Then we feel guilty. View quote
Melody Beattie
The U.K. and the U.S. could not have been built today without Africa's aid. It is all the resources that were taken from Africa, including human, that built these countries today! So when they try to give back, we shouldn't be on the defensive. View quote
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Industry was regarded entirely instrumentally by party, state and military, in terms of its ability to provide the sinews of war... The business community was characterized by a defensive opportunism in the face of state power. View quote
Richard Overy
Often there is a wall between the journalist and the star because there is usually not much time to get to know a person, and the star is always asked the same questions, and may be defensive. View quote
Ruud Gullit
Riding a motorcycle on today's highways, you have to ride in a very defensive manner. You have to be a good rider and you have to have both hands and both feet on the controls at all times. View quote
Evel Knievel
In most of the European countries - France stands out in its resistance to this particular form of American cultural imperialism - the national film industries were forced onto the defensive after the war by such binding agreements. (Fredric Jameson)
It is apparent that Christianity and Islam must come, and come immediately, to a closer understanding, and it is equally apparent that their unity if achieved, will be the most effective defensive measure against Communist expansion. View quote
Aly Khan
I loved to make a great defensive play, I'd rather do that than hit a home run. View quote
Bill Dickey
War, in some instances, especially defensive, has been authorized by Heaven. View quote
Ezra Stiles
Everything has changed. An interview has become such a confrontational thing. It makes you very defensive. View quote
Francesca Annis