My solution to the problem would be to tell [the North Vietnamese Communists] frankly that they've got to draw in their horns and stop their aggression or we're going to bomb them into the stone age.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- LeMay threatens North Vietnamese Communists with bombing them into the Stone Age to stop aggression.
- In plain terms
- LeMay threatens to bomb North Vietnam into the Stone Age to stop aggression.
- What can you take from it?
- Extreme threats reveal escalation logic in war.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Are threats effective?
- When is escalation justified?
Another view
Such threats are disproportionate and destructive.
More from Curtis LeMay
I have tried at all times to slaughter as few civilians as possible.
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Permalink to quote #4 There are no innocent civilians.
Permalink to quote #1
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