It's one thing to say don't commit atrocities on the battlefield. It's another thing to say don't get caught doing atrocities.
Oliver NorthToday, only 2 percent of the people know the name of someone serving in uniform. That means 2 percent of your listeners can actually conjure up the image of someone wearing the uniform of the military of the United States.
Oliver NorthThe 2.4 million bright, brave, incredibly fit and remarkably talented young Americans who have served in our armed forces since we were attacked on 9-11-01 are all volunteers. As General Petraeus put it during a conversation we had in Afghanistan, 'They all came or stayed, knowing they were going to war.' For more than a decade, these patriots and their loved ones have made extraordinary sacrifices for this country. They embody the classical definition of heroes: those who put themselves at risk for the benefit of others.
Oliver NorthI would not trade you a billion dollars for the kids I led to combat in Vietnam or in fact any of the Marines that I served with for a quarter of a century.
Oliver NorthThere is no moral middle ground. Indifference is not an option. ... For the sake of our children, I implore each of you to be unyielding and inflexible in your opposition to drugs.
Oliver NorthI would have promised those terrorists a trip to Disneyland if it would have gotten the hostages released. I thank God they were satisfied with the missiles and we didn't have to go to that extreme.
Oliver NorthI haven't, in the 23 years that I have been in the uniformed services of the United States of America, ever violated an order - not one.
Oliver NorthI think capital punishment's day is done in this country. I don't think it's fairly applied.
Oliver NorthThe lesson of Pearl Harbor ought never to be forgotten, and of course the motto that came from that, 69 years ago, the war which my dad fought, was 'Remember Pearl Harbor, never again.' We need to keep that to mind.
Oliver NorthA Commander-in-Chief needs to do two things. One - tell us who the enemy is. And two - say we are fighting to win.
Oliver NorthI think as a rifle platoon and company commander your view is about 1,000 meters in front of you and you hope you can cover that ground and not have to back up and give it up again.
Oliver NorthI don't think there is another person in America that wants to tell this story as much as I do.
Oliver NorthAs a Marine officer in combat, I was responsible for the lives and safety of all the Marines who served with me.
Oliver NorthThe average term length of a member of congress is approaching 15 years, and the average term length of a convicted criminal is less than three. We've got that backward.
Oliver NorthHeroes aren't athletes who set new sports records, or Hollywood actors who make 'daring' films or politicians who make bold promises. Heroes are people who place themselves at risk for the benefit of others.
Oliver NorthI know the difference between right and wrong, and I can tell good from bad. But I also know that the more difficult decisions come when we have to choose between good and better. The toughest calls of all are those we have to make between bad and worse.
Oliver NorthHistory and war are cruel pedants. Those who know too little of the former are likely to have too much of the latter.
Oliver NorthWe don't need a head of state who guts our defenses and draws phony red lines with a pink crayon.
Oliver NorthIn my first book, Under Fire, I wrote that I revered Ronald Reagan. That was a dozen years ago. I still feel that way. I think he changed the world for the better for my children and my children's children.
Oliver North