--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As history since Hiroshima shows, the…" description: "\"As history since Hiroshima shows, the best, perhaps the only, way to curb war is to deter it with such overwhelming force as to turn it from a struggle..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/martin-van-creveld-23146_curb_as-history-since-hiroshima-shows-the-bes_3044009.jpg" --- # As history since Hiroshima shows, the best, perhaps the… ![“As history since Hiroshima shows, the best, perhaps the only, way to curb war is to deter it with such overwhelming force as to turn it from a struggle into suicide.” quote by Martin Van Creveld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/martin-van-creveld-23146_curb_as-history-since-hiroshima-shows-the-bes_3044009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/martin-van-creveld-23146_curb_as-history-since-hiroshima-shows-the-bes_3044009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/martin-van-creveld-23146_curb_as-history-since-hiroshima-shows-the-bes_3044009.jpg) > “As history since Hiroshima shows, the best, perhaps the only, way to curb war is to deter it with such overwhelming force as to turn it from a struggle into suicide.” [Martin Van Creveld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-creveld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deterrence requires overwhelming force that makes war suicidal, preventing conflict altogether. **In simple terms:** Overwhelming force can stop war. Key Takeaway Adopt policies that make war too costly. Themes war deterrence policy peace Mood serious reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - military planning - international negotiations - defense budgeting - conflict prevention Key Concepts strategic balance mutual assured destruction ethical limits Questions to Reflect On - Is it ethical to threaten suicide? - Can deterrence work without escalation? A Different Perspective Such force may provoke arms races and moral dilemmas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hiroshima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hiroshima/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Overwhelming force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelming-force/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Today when two people decide upon a thoughtless and precipitate abbreviation of the physical space between them, they think, at least at that moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/today-when-two-people-decide-upon-a-thoughtless-and-precipitate/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [Blessed be the memory of those few brethren who contended so strenuously for their constitutional rights and religious freedom, against such an overwhelming force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/blessed-be-the-memory-of-those-few-brethren-who-contended-so/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [“Everyone thinks at some time or other that in a hundred years no one now alive will be on earth - the overwhelming force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/everyone-thinks-at-some-time-or-other-that-in-a-hundred-years-no-one/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Any military force should be dictated by the vital national security interests of the United States. 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