--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But we cannot allow weapons of mass…" description: "\"But we cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into the hands of terrorists. I will not allow that to happen.\" — George W. Bush" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/george-w-bush-64_destruction_but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-dest_1001413.jpg" --- # But we cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall… ![“But we cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into the hands of terrorists. I will not allow that to happen.” quote by George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/george-w-bush-64_destruction_but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-dest_1001413.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/george-w-bush-64_destruction_but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-dest_1001413.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/george-w-bush-64_destruction_but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-dest_1001413.jpg) > “But we cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into the hands of terrorists. I will not allow that to happen.” [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He asserts the need to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons. **In simple terms:** Prevent terrorists from getting WMDs. Key Takeaway Prioritize non‑proliferation security. Themes terrorism security policy non‑proliferation responsibility Mood serious urgent Type political policy When to use this quote - government policy - international negotiations - military oversight - diplomacy - public safety Key Concepts global stability deterrence intelligence gathering Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards ensure responsible enforcement? - How to address non‑state actors? A Different Perspective Balancing civil liberties with security measures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-destruction/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) [Weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons-of-mass-destruction/) ## Related quotes > [Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/free-nations-don-t-develop-weapons-of-mass-destruction/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I have absolutely no doubt at all that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programmes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-have-absolutely-no-doubt-at-all-that-we-will-find-evidence-of/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [We never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/we-never-believed-that-we-d-just-tumble-over-weapons-of-mass/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [ What we also know is we haven't found them \[weapons of mass destruction\] in Iraq - now let the survey group complete its work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/what-we-also-know-is-we-haven-t-found-them-weapons-of-mass/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [That's why they (the Bush administration) had to make up that story about weapons of mass destruction. Because that was the only thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/that-s-why-they-the-bush-administration-had-to-make-up-that-story/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [I don't concede that Guccifer is a Russian agent. Officials also said, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Just because the intelligence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-stone/i-don-t-concede-that-guccifer-is-a-russian-agent-officials-also-said/) [Roger Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-stone/) > [Sanctions aren't about weapons of mass destruction. People need to understand that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-ritter/sanctions-aren-t-about-weapons-of-mass-destruction-people-need-to/) [Scott Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-ritter/) > [“Who needs immortal strength when you've got weapons of mass destruction?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-saare/who-needs-immortal-strength-when-you-ve-got-weapons-of-mass/) [J.A. Saare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-saare/) > [Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/hussein-has-chosen-to-spend-his-money-on-building-weapons-of-mass/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/simply-stated-there-is-no-doubt-that-saddam-hussein-now-has-weapons/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Instead of building newer and larger weapons of mass destruction, I think mankind should try to get more use out of the ones we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/instead-of-building-newer-and-larger-weapons-of-mass-destruction-i/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“Unfortunately, however, weapons of mass destruction tend to attract maniacs: men - it's almost always men - who want to jab the red button…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mal-peet/unfortunately-however-weapons-of-mass-destruction-tend-to-attract/) [Mal Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mal-peet/) > [Weapons of mass destruction - nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons - are just that, and no cause can excuse their use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-n-haass/weapons-of-mass-destruction-nuclear-biological-and-chemical-weapons/) [Richard N. Haass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-n-haass/) > [Never, never tell jokes about a man with easy access to weapons of mass destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-chernin/never-never-tell-jokes-about-a-man-with-easy-access-to-weapons-of/) [Peter Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-chernin/) > [At another location, we found barrels of chemical material that was intended for use as biochemical weapons. Everyone talks about there being no weapons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/at-another-location-we-found-barrels-of-chemical-material-that-was/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) ## More by George W. Bush > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We will make sure our troops have all that is necessary to complete their missions. That's why I went to the Congress last September…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-make-sure-our-troops-have-all-that-is-necessary-to-complete/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/you-can-fool-some-of-the-people-all-the-time-and-those-are-the-ones/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-tyrant-has-fallen-and-iraq-is-free/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“One of our energy strategies is to increase the CAFE standards to 35 miles per hour..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/one-of-our-energy-strategies-is-to-increase-the-cafe-standards-to-35/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [There's a lot that I want to accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-s-a-lot-that-i-want-to-accomplish/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [My answer is bring 'em on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/my-answer-is-bring-em-on/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [On 9-11, we discovered that we cannot escape from the world. To me personally, this was a life-changing experience, and I realized, as did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/on-9-11-we-discovered-that-we-cannot-escape-from-the-world-to-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [As Americans, we want peace - we work and sacrifice for peace. But there can be no peace if our security depends on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/as-americans-we-want-peace-we-work-and-sacrifice-for-peace-but-there/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Chanukah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-couldn-t-imagine-somebody-like-osama-bin-laden-understanding-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) [Explore all 1,717 George W. Bush quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) ## More Destruction quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [Away with you, water, destruction of wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/away-with-you-water-destruction-of-wine/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We're on the eve of destruction. Men have lost all sense of honor. Power has become their faith instead of faith being their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atiq-rahimi/we-re-on-the-eve-of-destruction-men-have-lost-all-sense-of-honor/) Atiq Rahimi [Browse all 3,161 Destruction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But we cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into the hands of terrorists. I will not allow that to happen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George W. Bush" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-destruction-to-fall-into-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destruction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-destruction-to-fall-into-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/george-w-bush-64_destruction_but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-dest_1001413.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/george-w-bush-64_destruction_but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-dest_1001413.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/george-w-bush-64_destruction_but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-dest_1001413.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But we cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into the hands of terrorists. I will not allow that…” — George W. Bush", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George W. Bush", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But we cannot allow weapons of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-destruction-to-fall-into-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/but-we-cannot-allow-weapons-of-mass-destruction-to-fall-into-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```