Leading with Peace

It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.
Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman, US Civil War 1861 - 1865

I could have captured the whole of Your Majesty’s army. I contented myself with an armistice, in the hope that this would be a first step towards a world-peace. That is an aim which I cherish all the more, as it might be supposed that one nurtured and brought up on war would be more hardened than I am to the evils it involves.
Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, letter to the King of George III of England, 1805

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, World War II General 

We need to develop and root in our society a culture of peace. We need to promote regional integration.
Joaquim Chissano, Second President of Mozambique

Let us forget bad things that happened in the past that divide and hurt us and let us unite in peace and love so we can advance to a better future. 
José Ramos-Horta, 2nd President, Timor Leste ,Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 1996



It is painful enough to discover with what unconcern they speak of war and threaten it. I have seen enough of it to make me look upon it as the sum of all evils.
Confederate Army General Stonewall Jackson US Civil War 1861 – 1865

Guru Nanak Dev Ji's message of equality, peaceful co-existence and universal love is an abiding source of inspiration for all.  Let us resolve to deeply understand his noble teachings and rededicate ourselves to the cause of humanity, equality, brotherhood and harmony.
President Pratibha Patil, 12th President, Republic of India

Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, World War II Veteran

We cannot and must not allow ourselves to have the message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki fade completely from our minds, and we cannot allow our vision or ideals to fade, either. For if we do, we have but one course left for us. And that flash of light will not only rob us of our vision, but it will rob us of our lives, our progeny, and our very existence. 
Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima, Japan

We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.
Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States

Peace is much more precious than a piece of land... let there be no more wars.
Anwar Sadat , Third President of Egypt

I call upon all Israeli leaders, regardless of their lines, to move forward towards this peace for the sake of our children and their children, for our future and their future.
Yasser Arafat, President of Palestinian Territories, 1989 - 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 1994

We will not rest until we reach a permanent agreement that would secure a safe future for our children and that would provide us with renewed hope to live in a region where people lead a life of cooperation and not, God forbid, where blood is shed.
Yitzhak Rabin, Fifth Prime Minister of Israel ,Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 1994

Never was so much false arithmetic employed on any subject, as that which has been employed to persuade nations that it is their interest to go to war. Were the money which it has cost to gain, at the close of a long war, a little town, or a little territory… expended in improving what they already possess, in making roads… improving the arts, and finding employment for their idle poor, it would render them much stronger, much wealthier and happier. This I hope will be our wisdom.
Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
Nelson Mandela, Eighth President of South Africa, First Post-Apartheid leader

Today at long last we are starting upon the road - I emphasize starting - which I believe will take us to lasting peace in our Province. …Today we salute Ulster's honored and unaging dead - the innocent victims, that gallant band, members of both religions, Protestant and Roman Catholic, strong in their allegiance to their differing political beliefs, Unionist and Nationalist, male and female, children and adults, all innocent victims of the terrible conflict …I have sensed a great sigh of relief amongst all our people who want the hostility to be replaced with neighborliness. …I believe that Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace, a time when hate will no longer rule. How good it will be to be part of a wonderful healing in our Province.
Ian Paisley, First Minister, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

If we can contribute to peace and prosperity across the Taiwan Straits, the accomplishments would be historic. 
Ma Ying-jeou, 12th Term President of Formosa (Taiwan)

Let us discuss a formal end to the state of hostility between the two sides, reach a peace agreement, construct a framework for peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and thus usher in a new phase of peaceful development.
Hu Jintao, President of China, 2003 - present

The Jewish and Islamic religions share a faith in one Lord and an adherence to fundamental values of truth, justice, and peace. From this common ground we believe beautiful fruit can grow. … Our peoples have a long history of cooperation. Only peace can ensure the prosperity and well-being of all our people.
Shimon Peres, 11th President of Israel, Eighth Prime Minister of Israel

I would like to tell everyone who is listening to me right now that Islam has nothing to do with these evil deeds. And those who commit these acts will never have peace in Heaven, never. Because you cannot kill in the name of Allah. You need to do good in the name of Allah. 
Yunus–Bek Yevkurov, Third President of Russia’s Republic of Ingushetia

I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

I am a steadfast follower of the doctrine of non-violence which was first preached by Lord Buddha, whose divine wisdom is absolute...
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, Tibetan Spiritual Leader

In the space of ten years, your Majesty has gained more in wealth and territory than the extent of Europe comprehends. Your people have attained the height of prosperity. What then has your Majesty to hope from war? The world is sufficiently extensive for our two nations; and reason might assist us to discover means of conciliating all, were both parties animated by a spirit of reconcilement.
Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, letter to the King of George III of England, 1805

Without peace, all other dreams vanish and are reduced to ashes.
Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India

We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, World War II Veteran

Videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai
Los Angeles,California, USA – August 29, 2009