Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few – the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill. Smedley Butler Read Quote
My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military. Smedley Butler Read Quote
War is just a racket… I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. Smedley Butler Read Quote
War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses. Smedley Butler Read Quote
The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits – ah! that is another matter – twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent – the sky is the limit. Smedley Butler Read Quote
For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Smedley Butler Read Quote
We must permit the youth of the land who would bear arms to decide whether or not there should be war. Smedley Butler Read Quote
There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. Smedley Butler Read Quote
War is a racket. It always has been… A few profit – and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can’t end it by disarmament conferences. You can’t eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can’t wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war. Smedley Butler Read Quote