Top 141 Defence Quotes

You have to ask if the country would have been ready for Barack Obama if we hadn’t been prepared by Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. If they hadn’t already been in positions of enormous power and influence – secretary of state, secretary of defence – you know what I mean?

Ten years ago U.S. defence investment represented almost half of all defence expenditure in the whole alliance. Today it is 75%. This increasing economic gap may also lead to an increasing technology gap which will almost hamper the inter-operability between our forces.

There is a feeling within our system that defence equipment can’t be made here and should be imported. I wanted to break this myth, so we spent our money and made a product to prove we have capability in this country, so don’t just brush us aside.

The government took a decision to implement ‘One Rank, One Pension’ for defence personnel in 2015 and promised to pay arrears in four instalments. I can say that all OROP arrears have been cleared, with over Rs 10,788 crore being spent.

It is a significant gamble to assume that troops in our U.K. Armed Forces would volunteer for a Scottish Defence Force.

In football, there has always been this idea of having a left-footer and a right-footer in central defence.

We are not a superpower, but we have a legitimate need to protect and enhance our global interests. It is important that we maintain the independent defence capability to do so. We stand the best chance of doing so outside the E.U.

They are not the same – Xavi is more the man of passing and Iniesta can dribble more – but they have great vision, they are important to the defence and the attack.

We need to just study what other countries have done. There are examples of a strong partnership between the defence establishment and the private industry.

I’ve always wanted to do something for the defence forces – I’ve always said that the Army always has been my first love. It’s about what they do selflessly for the country.

Europe can’t rely on a Trump-led U.S. for its defence. But, at the same time, it should recognise that the cold war is over – however unwilling to acknowledge it America’s industrial-military complex may be.

Every team needs goalscorers, attacking players, players who can sweep up the ball, but every team needs that someone who can be the link between defence and attack. The greatest teams always have that sort of player.

He that rebels against reason is a real rebel, but he that in defence of reason rebels against tyranny has a better title to Defender of the Faith, than George the Third.

Normally, I am a player who can play in different positions, but never in defence.

I make terrible jokes every time I go into a hospital. I think it’s a defence mechanism.

The minute a collective alliance fails to live up to its agreement to collective defence, then from that moment on, everybody is on the run.

For me, it is very important to control a situation in defence. You can always score goals, but you have to add stability in the defence.

There can be no defence like elaborate courtesy.

It will be a priority for me to ensure the smooth and speedy implementation of defence deals and projects.

Obviously, I did not start my Test career too well. With the bat, I was probably not quite ready to play at that stage. I was happy to go back to first-class system and learn my game a bit more, honing my skills, particularly my defence and patience.

What is entertainment? Entertainment is the master of defence in Europe – Simeone.

As cities get bigger, our best defence will be to prevent outbreaks in the first place by building better public health systems, improving childhood immunisation through better routine immunisation and pre-emptive vaccination campaigns.

You can’t rely on your defence to win a World Cup.

The arguments over the limits that may be put on individuals suspected of sympathising with the enemy have occurred over the centuries. Habeas corpus was suspended during the Napoleonic wars, and Defence Regulation 18b was applied during the Second World War.

From our point of view having American, Canadian or British troops on a rotating basis in Poland and in the Baltics would be an enormous boon to our defence capabilities.

As fiscal constraints impinge on defence and diplomacy, governments find themselves increasingly homebound, even if diplomats happily travel to summits.

God bless the Union; – it is dearer to us for the blood of brave men which has been shed in its defence.

Raheem Sterling is a danger to every defence because of his pace and technique. If you let him go one against one, you are in trouble. He has that speed with the ball at his feet to make a difference.

Doesn’t the fight for survival also justify swindle and theft? In self defence, anything goes.

Britain fought the second world war with men and money partly drawn from the empire and that, after the defence of the home islands, the survival of the empire was a fundamental war aim.

You’ve got to want to play defence. Nobody really wants to play defence. It’s boring. It sucks. You don’t get the flashiness, the scores, the dunks. But you’ve got to have it.

I like the concept of ‘Make in India’. But the orientation of ‘Make in India’ is slightly different than what I would. So, the orientation of Make in India is big business, and a lot of it is defence. My orientation of ‘Make in India’ would be small and medium businesses.

When you make a mistake, and the team is not doing well in defence, then the centre-backs and the ‘keeper suffer more than the others.

Bofors was a steelmaker that became a forgings company and then went on to build guns. Companies like Krupp and Thyssen were in steel and forgings before entering defence. There are similar examples in the U.K.; it is a natural progression.

I’m one guy on an 11-man defence that needs to do his job.

There was a time when a certain type of Tory could have been relied on to swing from the chandeliers in defence of the rights of freeborn Britons. I suppose a lot of those Tories would have been what you might call ‘one-nation Tories.’ That tradition has died in the Conservative party.

I have that one-punch KO power in both hands but I won’t only be going for the head. Most of Floyd’s opponents have done that but his defence is so good.

I can shoot, or I can roll, I can finish inside, I can take two-point shots, I can switch on defence and I can protect the paint.

That’s what I hang my hat on, is defence.

The refusal to accept that the black presence in Britain has a long and deep history is not just a symptom of racism, it is a form of racism. It is part of a rearguard and increasingly unsustainable defence of a fantasy monochrome version of British history.

I played central defender for the most part when I started playing football, either central defence or right-back.

It’s good to be good at playing defence, but the best defence is a strong offence.

A good boxing competition gives one the sight of fine men in their prime, trained to the ounce, showing the highest skill, pluck and endurance in carrying out their attack and defence under strict rules of fair play and good temper.

Quite honestly, if we do manage to destroy the planet with our devil-may-care attitude to natural resources, I’d suggest we leave, as a dossier in our defence, the collected letters to agony aunts and uncles down the generations. It would certainly prove that we weren’t all bad!

If the Royal Navy and wider defence is to deliver on the ambitions of our country, we must tackle the inadequate funding and political thinking that undermine the best armed forces in the world.

As an individual I have personal ambitions – scoring goals, giving as many assists as I can but also working hard for the team and doing a job in defence as well. My ‘ambitions are for the team and what we can achieve as a whole.

When you build a house, you have to start from the floor. You have to start from the bottom, the defence, and then you fix the attack.

As a defence, we have to strive for that clean sheet while also giving the attacking players the licence to go and create.

I am extremely honoured to be the Defence Secretary, and I would not do the job if I did not think that I could make a useful contribution in the role.

To be successful you have to find a good balance between offence and defence, to work without the ball, but our main tactic is to work with the ball, to be in possession.

Within NATO, our Defence Capabilities Initiative has identified the essential capabilities all Allies must have for modern operations, and Allies are working to meet those requirements.

I think there is no defending a title. You don’t go into a season with a points advantage over anyone. So I don’t think it’s ever a title defence. I think you’ve got a different number on your bike, if you choose so, but everyone starts at zero again.

In Italy it is far more difficult than in Spain, where teams are not that attentive in defence.

We never want to expand our borders… but I can say that our security forces and defence forces possess all the might to protect our borders.