John Yoo Quotes About War

Quotes about: War

• It is important to recognize the differences between the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. The treatment of those detained at Abu Ghraib is governed by the Geneva Conventions, which have been signed by both the U.S. and Iraq.

  John Yoo

  War, Iraq, Differences

• In light of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, critics are arguing that abuses of Iraqi prisoners are being produced by a climate of disregard for the laws of war.

  John Yoo

  War, Light, Law

• While Taliban fighters had an initial claim to protection under the conventions, they lost POW status by failing to obey the standards of conduct for legal combatants: wearing uniforms, a responsible command structure, and obeying the laws of war.

  John Yoo

  War, Law, Uniforms

• Unlike previous wars, our enemy now is a stateless network of religious extremists. They do not obey the laws of war, they hide among peaceful populations and launch surprise attacks on civilians. They have no armed forces per se, no territory or citizens to defend and no fear of dying during their attacks. Information is our primary weapon against this enemy, and intelligence gathered from captured operatives is perhaps the most effective means of preventing future attacks.

  John Yoo

  Religious, War, Mean

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• An American leader would be derelict of duty if he did not seek to understand all his options in such unprecedented circumstances. Presidents Lincoln during the Civil War and Roosevelt in the lead-up to World War II sought legal advice about the outer bounds of their power - even if they did not always use it. Our leaders should ask legal questions first, before setting policy or making decisions in a fog of uncertainty.

  John Yoo

  War, Decision, Leader

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• We can guess that the unacceptable conduct of the soldiers at Abu Ghraib resulted in part from the dangerous state of affairs on the ground in a theater of war.

  John Yoo

  War, Soldier, Abu Ghraib

• Declarations of war have never been a constitutional requirement for military action abroad. The United States has used force abroad more than 130 times, but has only declared war five times - the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, and World Wars I and II.

  John Yoo

  War, Military, World

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• The United States of course wants to follow the highest standards of conduct with regard to enemy combatants who follow the rules of war. It should and does follow the Geneva Conventions scrupulously when fighting the armed forces of other nations that have signed the Geneva Conventions or follow their principles.

  John Yoo

  War, Fighting, Enemy

  "John Yoo: National security, executive power and the war on terrorism". Live Q&A, www.washingtonpost.com. March 3, 2010.

• Congress has created and funded a huge peacetime military that has substantial abilities to wage offensive operations, and it has not placed restrictions on the use of that military or the funds to support it, because it would rather let the president take the political risks in deciding on war. If Congress wanted to play a role in restricting war, it could - it simply does not want to. But we should not mistake a failure of political will for a violation of the Constitution.

  John Yoo

  War, Mistake, Military

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• The effort to blur the lines between Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib reflects a deep misunderstanding about the different legal regimes that apply to Iraq and the war against al Qaeda.

  John Yoo

  War, Iraq, Effort

• Declarations of war have never been a constitutional requirement for military action abroad.

  John Yoo

  Military, War, Requirements

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• I believe that the power to declare war is most important in limiting the powers of the national government in regard to the rights of its citizens, but that it does not require Congress to give its approval before the president uses force abroad. I do not believe that the framers of the Constitution understood the power to declare to mean "authorize" or "commence" war. That does not mean that the separation of powers or checks and balances will not work.

  John Yoo

  War, Believe, Mean

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• The United States has used force abroad more than 130 times, but has only declared war five times - the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, and World Wars I and II.

  John Yoo

  War, Mexican, United States

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• I think it can be very important for the president to seek congressional approval for war , even though not constitutionally required to do so, in certain situations. It makes sense to go to Congress to signal our national resolve and our willingness to fight to defend other nations or the freedom of their peoples.

  John Yoo

  War, Fighting, Thinking

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully.

  John Yoo

  War, Rights, Needs

  "Obama releases internal Bush Justice Department memos" by Terry Frieden, www.cnn.com. March 2, 2009.

• I believe that the power to declare war is most important in limiting the powers of the national government in regard to the rights of its citizens, but that it does not require Congress to give its approval before the president uses force abroad.

  John Yoo

  War, Believe, Rights

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• The United States is at war with the al Qaeda terrorist group. Al Qaeda is not a nation-state and it has not signed the Geneva Conventions. It shows no desire to obey the laws of war; if anything it directly violates them by disguising themselves as civilians and attacking purely civilian targets to cause massive casualties.

  John Yoo

  War, Desire, Terrorist

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• Human rights advocates, for example, claim that the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners is of a piece with President Bush's 2002 decision to deny al Qaeda and Taliban fighters the legal status of POWs under the Geneva Conventions.

  John Yoo

  War, Rights, Decision

  "Terrorists Have No Geneva Rights" by John Yoo, www.wsj.com. May 26, 2004.

• Al Qaeda is not a nation-state and it has not signed the Geneva Conventions. It shows no desire to obey the laws of war; if anything it directly violates them by disguising themselves as civilians and attacking purely civilian targets to cause massive casualties.

  John Yoo

  War, Law, Desire

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• There are pros and cons about the policy decision whether to follow the Geneva Conventions in a war where they do not legally apply. Among the pros might be benefits for America's image, its ability to argue in future conflicts that the Conventions should be followed, and training soldiers to follow only the Geneva standards. Among the cons might be greater security and safety for our troops who capture and detain al Qaeda operatives and the ability to gather more actionable intelligence swiftly.

  John Yoo

  War, Safety, Decision

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• It is also worth asking whether the strict limitations of Geneva make sense in a war against terrorists.

  John Yoo

  War, Asking, Terrorist

• There was nothing wrong - and everything right - with analyzing a law that establishes boundaries on interrogation in the war on terrorism.

  John Yoo

  War, Law, Analyzing

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

• Our enemy now is a stateless network of religious extremists. They do not obey the laws of war, they hide among peaceful populations and launch surprise attacks on civilians. They have no armed forces per se, no territory or citizens to defend and no fear of dying during their attacks.

  John Yoo

  Religious, War, Peaceful

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

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