Is That Winston Speaking of the Iraq War of 2003?

If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

Today is the birthday of Winston Churchill, the British Statesman, Soldier, and Author (1874-1965) who said:

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.

A joke is a very serious thing.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen.

A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.

Advertising nourishes the consuming power of men. It sets up before a man the goal of a better home, better clothing, better food for himself and his family. It spurs individual exertion and greater production.

Air power can either paralyze the enemy's military action or compel him to devote to the defense of his bases and communications a share of his straitened resources far greater that what we need in the attack.

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.

The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.

That last one is important enough that the French version be presented also:

Les hommes trébuchent parfois sur la vérité, mais la plupart se redressent et passent vite leur chemin comme si rien ne leur était arrivé.