8 Quotes by Smedley Butler about war

  • Author Smedley Butler
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    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.

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  • Author Smedley Butler
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    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.

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  • Author Smedley Butler
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    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.

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  • Author Smedley Butler
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    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.

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  • Author Smedley Butler
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    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.

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  • Author Smedley Butler
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    War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious.

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  • Author Smedley Butler
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    War like any other racket, pays high dividends to the very few. The cost of operations is always transferred to the people who do not profit.

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  • Author Smedley Butler
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    War Is A Racket : I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all members of the military profession I never had an original thought until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher- ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service

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