--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have talked about World War I and…" description: "\"“We have talked about World War I and World War II, but could World War III be in our future? The war on terror has already been declared, and unless w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ben-carson-3320_middle-ground_we-have-talked-about-world-war-i-and-wor_1101941.jpg" --- # We have talked about World War I and World War II, but… ![“We have talked about World War I and World War II, but could World War III be in our future? The war on terror has already been declared, and unless we act with courage and decisiveness, there is no question that the terrorists will soon acquire nuclear weapons. Radical Islamic extremists are not…” quote by Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ben-carson-3320_middle-ground_we-have-talked-about-world-war-i-and-wor_1101941.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ben-carson-3320_middle-ground_we-have-talked-about-world-war-i-and-wor_1101941.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ben-carson-3320_middle-ground_we-have-talked-about-world-war-i-and-wor_1101941.jpg) > ““We have talked about World War I and World War II, but could World War III be in our future? The war on terror has already been declared, and unless we act with courage and decisiveness, there is no question that the terrorists will soon acquire nuclear weapons. Radical Islamic extremists are not satisfied to peacefully coexist with those they consider to be infidels. They feel that such people need to either be converted or destroyed — and there is no middle ground.”” [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Failure to act decisively against extremist threats may enable them to acquire catastrophic weapons, demanding bold, immediate response. **In simple terms:** Act now against extremist threats. Key Takeaway Take decisive, bold action. Themes security terrorism urgency Mood determined serious Type political warning When to use this quote - government response - international cooperation - public awareness - preventive intelligence Key Concepts geopolitics extremism policy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What actions can prevent escalation? - How to balance security with civil liberties? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on force can ignore diplomatic solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extremists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremists/) [Middle ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-ground/) [Nuclear weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-weapons/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [Years ago I was asked this question: Do terrorists fear anything? I said, 'I suspect they would fear a morally strong America.' They would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/years-ago-i-was-asked-this-question-do-terrorists-fear-anything-i/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [This is a global war on terror. We're facing extremists that believe something. And they want to achieve objectives. And, therefore, the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/this-is-a-global-war-on-terror-we-re-facing-extremists-that-believe/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“The attacks of 9/11 were the biggest surprise in American history, and for the past ten years we haven't stopped being surprised. The war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-attacks-of-9-11-were-the-biggest-surprise-in-american-history-and/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Ever since 9/11, I found myself interested in chronicling the war and the war on terror and the way that this giant machinery was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/ever-since-9-11-i-found-myself-interested-in-chronicling-the-war-and/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [The war on terror is a fight that we did not start, but it is one that we shall finish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lampson/the-war-on-terror-is-a-fight-that-we-did-not-start-but-it-is-one-that/) [Nick Lampson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lampson/) > [The primary goal of the War on Terror is to prevent an attack from happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/the-primary-goal-of-the-war-on-terror-is-to-prevent-an-attack-from/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I am one of the few people I know of who has argued in print that torture may be an ethical necessity in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/i-am-one-of-the-few-people-i-know-of-who-has-argued-in-print-that/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/one-of-the-hardest-parts-of-my-job-is-to-connect-iraq-to-the-war-on/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I was told my son was killed in the war on terror. He was killed by George Bush's war of terror on the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sheehan/i-was-told-my-son-was-killed-in-the-war-on-terror-he-was-killed-by/) [Cindy Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sheehan/) > [Undreds of thousands of American servicemen and women are deployed across the world in the war on terror. By bringing hope to the oppressed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush-2/undreds-of-thousands-of-american-servicemen-and-women-are-deployed/) [George W Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush-2/) > [We all know that Washington families are making a tremendous commitment to winning the War on Terror. Tonight, more than 22,000 Washington state soldiers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-murray/we-all-know-that-washington-families-are-making-a-tremendous/) [Patty Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-murray/) > [From our perspective, trying to deal with this continuing campaign of terror, if you will, the war on terror that we're engaged in, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/from-our-perspective-trying-to-deal-with-this-continuing-campaign-of/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [“For the same reason , the American government has invented a completely new juridical category , that of 'illegal enemy combatants'. In general, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tzvetan-todorov/for-the-same-reason-the-american-government-has-invented-a-completely/) [Tzvetan Todorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tzvetan-todorov/) > [If it is terrorism, if it is war on terror, then the Afghan people will join you on terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/if-it-is-terrorism-if-it-is-war-on-terror-then-the-afghan-people-will/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [So a truthful assessment of how America is doing in the war on terror as a result of President Bush's war on Iraq is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-olver/so-a-truthful-assessment-of-how-america-is-doing-in-the-war-on-terror/) [John Olver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-olver/) ## More by Ben Carson > [“We all have choices in the way we react to the words we hear. Our lives and the lives of all those around us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/we-all-have-choices-in-the-way-we-react-to-the-words-we-hear-our/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“to do only if you don’t have a good argument. This is also a good way to keep people at one another’s throats constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/to-do-only-if-you-don-t-have-a-good-argument-this-is-also-a-good-way/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Our founding fathers placed so much emphasis on nurturing a well-educated populace because they knew that our system of democracy could not long survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/our-founding-fathers-placed-so-much-emphasis-on-nurturing-a-well/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“If mediocrity becomes the norm, the quantity of outstanding producers will decline, as will general prosperity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/if-mediocrity-becomes-the-norm-the-quantity-of-outstanding-producers/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“If we are ever going to have adequate funding for health care and other major line items in our budget, however, we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/if-we-are-ever-going-to-have-adequate-funding-for-health-care-and/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“capitalism is an economic system in which individuals or corporate groups have the right to make private decisions and to acquire private property and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/capitalism-is-an-economic-system-in-which-individuals-or-corporate/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“A gigantic, bloated government has to keep itself busy in order to justify its existence; hence, you have more regulations and meddling in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/a-gigantic-bloated-government-has-to-keep-itself-busy-in-order-to/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Everyone should realize that today the average person lives to be about eighty years of age, the first twenty to twenty-five of which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/everyone-should-realize-that-today-the-average-person-lives-to-be/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“One of America’s most respected legacies is indeed that of rebelling for change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/one-of-america-s-most-respected-legacies-is-indeed-that-of-rebelling/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“The real question is, will we as Americans, accustomed to freedom, continue to sheepishly submit to the purveyors of political correctness without recognizing its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/the-real-question-is-will-we-as-americans-accustomed-to-freedom/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Many well-meaning Americans have bought into the PC speech code, thinking that by being extra careful not to offend anyone we will achieve unity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/many-well-meaning-americans-have-bought-into-the-pc-speech-code/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Many in Europe saw an opportunity to escape the oppressive and overbearing governmental systems under which they languished, and these people emigrated in droves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/many-in-europe-saw-an-opportunity-to-escape-the-oppressive-and/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“As long as you have broad representation from many parts of society, representative government works extremely well. And it works even better when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/as-long-as-you-have-broad-representation-from-many-parts-of-society/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“The Constitution is quite clear that the government has the right to tax in order to support its programs, but there is nothing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/the-constitution-is-quite-clear-that-the-government-has-the-right-to/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Proverbs 11:9: Evil words destroy one’s friends; wise discernment rescues the godly. Proverbs 11:12: It is foolish to belittle a neighbor; a person with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/proverbs-11-9-evil-words-destroy-one-s-friends-wise-discernment/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) [Explore all 131 Ben Carson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) ## More Extremists quotes > [“Kill extremists and more extremists will appear. Kill Extremist Ideology and extremism will disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/kill-extremists-and-more-extremists-will-appear-kill-extremist/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [Senseless violence is, almost by definition, hard to understand. Not that I can understand terrorists who kill from hate, but at least we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/senseless-violence-is-almost-by-definition-hard-to-understand-not/) [Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/) > [The war being fought in Afghanistan and Iraq is bringing about a fundamental change to the environment that has given rise and power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-l-thomas/the-war-being-fought-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-is-bringing-about-a/) [Craig L. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-l-thomas/) > [The vast literature concerning whistleblowers shows that, far from weird extremists, they are really quite ordinary people: male and female, young and old, junior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-vast-literature-concerning-whistleblowers-shows-that-far-from/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [Whenever anyone challenges anything, the powers that be try to paint them as extremists or radicals or whatever. And I think that's actually nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/whenever-anyone-challenges-anything-the-powers-that-be-try-to-paint/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [Most women are pragmatists who have allowed extremists on the left and right to manipulate the family issue for their own purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/most-women-are-pragmatists-who-have-allowed-extremists-on-the-left/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Some extremists take elements of the sacred scriptures out of context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-stevens/some-extremists-take-elements-of-the-sacred-scriptures-out-of-context/) [Cat Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-stevens/) > [The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [Environmental extremists ... wouldn't let you build a house unless it looked like a bird's nest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/environmental-extremists-wouldn-t-let-you-build-a-house-unless-it/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [There are "extremists" in the free software world, but that's one major reason why I don't call what I do "free software" any more.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/there-are-extremists-in-the-free-software-world-but-that-s-one-major/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [What you have to be concerned about are the extremists. On the whole, we need to understand the more moderate Muslims before they become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/what-you-have-to-be-concerned-about-are-the-extremists-on-the-whole/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [For as long as we're plagued by religions, we'll be plagued by extremists, because there's nothing more extreme than believing the human race was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/for-as-long-as-we-re-plagued-by-religions-we-ll-be-plagued-by/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [Tyranny is increasingly unsustainable in this post-cold-war era. It is doomed to failure. But it must be prodded to exit the stage with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eskinder-nega/tyranny-is-increasingly-unsustainable-in-this-post-cold-war-era-it-is/) [Eskinder Nega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eskinder-nega/) > [But instead, Democrats are so bent on seeing Republicans as a bunch of angry, right wing, intolerant, unreliable extremists that they have a track…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-fleischer/but-instead-democrats-are-so-bent-on-seeing-republicans-as-a-bunch-of/) [Ari Fleischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-fleischer/) [Browse all 178 Extremists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have talked about World War I and World War II, but could World War III be in our future? 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