William S. Cohen

“Acquiring a weapon is not a passion, it's a craft.”

“Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery is a threat to the United States and to international security.”

“Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God's gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences.”

“Nuclear weapons are the only weapons ever invented that have the power to destroy the planet. They are the ultimate evil.”

“We are a nation of laws, and we will not tolerate those who violate them.”

“There's a great deal of what I call 'analytic inertia.' You have to be very careful that you're not just looking at the same old problem in the same old way.”

“The government is the only known vessel that leaks from the top.”

“We have to be prepared for the worst, and the worst is that we could be in a state of war.”

“You can't have a military that is reflective of the society it's supposed to defend if it's not diverse.”

“The world is a very dangerous place, and it's a place where we need to be very, very clear about what we are doing and why.”