Dwight Eisenhower on the Purpose of War

I consider Eisenhower to be my favorite U.S. President of all time, and among all of his quotes, this one in particular has always stood out to me as a testament to his desire for peace:

War is mankind's most tragic and stupid folly; to seek or advise its deliberate provocation is a black crime against all men. Though you follow the trade of the warrior, you do so in the spirit of Washington — not of Genghis Khan. For Americans, only threat to our way of life justifies resort to conflict.

Knowing that he was the general who led the charge on D-Day, and knowing that saw the horrors of WWII firsthand, it is incredible to see him express his desire for mitigating war as much as possible. Not all war is the same. And incredibly enough, Eisenhower did not lead the US into a new war in his 8-year tenure in office, despite having presided over the end of the Korean War and many subsequent Cold War tensions across the world.

Of course, his views and actions weren't without fault. Namely, the domino theory he ascribed to led to the US meddling with the affairs of foreign nations through the use of the CIA which formed under Eisenhower's administration.

But Eisenhower's desire to mitigate bloodshed in the name of conquest remained firm, and in my eyes, was a mindset that many future presidents would have benefited from adopting.

If you have any thoughts on Eisenhower, or presidents' stances on war in general, feel free to share them!