--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, I would - if they realized that we…" description: "\"Well, I would - if they realized that we - again if - if we led them back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, or strike ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/ronald-reagan-119_destructive_well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-ag_2951298.jpg" --- # Well, I would - if they realized that we - again if - if… ![“Well, I would - if they realized that we - again if - if we led them back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, or strike at them after our first strike, would be so destructive they they couldn't afford it, that would hold them off.” quote by Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/ronald-reagan-119_destructive_well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-ag_2951298.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/ronald-reagan-119_destructive_well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-ag_2951298.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/ronald-reagan-119_destructive_well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-ag_2951298.jpg) > “Well, I would - if they realized that we - again if - if we led them back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, or strike at them after our first strike, would be so destructive they they couldn't afford it, that would hold them off.” [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that a credible threat of massive retaliation can deter adversaries from escalating conflict. **In simple terms:** Threat of massive retaliation deters war. Key Takeaway Maintain credible deterrence. Themes deterrence military strategy cold war power politics Mood cautious strategic Type political strategic When to use this quote - defense policy - international negotiations - crisis management Key Concepts mutually assured destruction strategic stability escalation Questions to Reflect On - How credible is your deterrent? - What alternatives exist to massive retaliation? A Different Perspective Deterrence may fail if adversary doubts credibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Humorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorous/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Led Stalemate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/led-stalemate-4449639/) [Retaliatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retaliatory-3278559/) [Retaliatory Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retaliatory-power-4449638/) [Seconds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seconds/) [Stalemate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalemate/) [Stalemate Retaliatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalemate-retaliatory-4449637/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [Local defense will always be important. But there is no local defense which alone will contain the mighty land power of the Communist world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-foster-dulles/local-defense-will-always-be-important-but-there-is-no-local-defense/) [John Foster Dulles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-foster-dulles/) > [An there is always the question: is it really proven that retaliatory actions solve the security problem?.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-sharett/an-there-is-always-the-question-is-it-really-proven-that-retaliatory/) [Moshe Sharett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-sharett/) > [“The only government tolerated by libertarians is one that exercises only retaliatory use of force on anyone who initiates the use of force against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hospers/the-only-government-tolerated-by-libertarians-is-one-that-exercises/) [John Hospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hospers/) > [Why would I strike America and invite a retaliatory counterstrike that would put an end to my regime? Keep in mind, the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-jong-un/why-would-i-strike-america-and-invite-a-retaliatory-counterstrike/) [Kim Jong-un](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-jong-un/) > [To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/to-say-that-we-are-closer-to-victory-today-is-to-believe-in-the-face/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/it-seems-now-more-certain-than-ever-that-the-bloody-experience-of/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [Veneration of Mark Twain is one of the roots of our current intellectual stalemate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy-toole/veneration-of-mark-twain-is-one-of-the-roots-of-our-current/) [John Kennedy Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy-toole/) > [Man the sum of what have you. A problem in impure properties carried tediously to an unvarying nil: stalemate of dust and desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/man-the-sum-of-what-have-you-a-problem-in-impure-properties-carried/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I have noticed that in books this sort of stalemate never seems to occur; the authors are so anxious to move their stories forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-have-noticed-that-in-books-this-sort-of-stalemate-never-seems-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [It takes a vice to check a vice, and virtue is the by-product of a stalemate between opposite vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-takes-a-vice-to-check-a-vice-and-virtue-is-the-by-product-of-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“Some people who have been working out regularly for months or even years are still out of shape because the number of cheat days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-who-have-been-working-out-regularly-for-months-or-even/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [At the same time, old confrontations have taken on frightening urgency, especially the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir and the violent stalemate in the Middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/at-the-same-time-old-confrontations-have-taken-on-frightening-urgency/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Finally Doug broke the stalemate and looked at Megan. "Thanks a lot," he said sarcastically. Then he yanked off his plastic gloves, tossed them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-brian/finally-doug-broke-the-stalemate-and-looked-at-megan-thanks-a-lot-he/) [Kate Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-brian/) > [“It was a stalemate Silas was willing to live with, and apparently, so was his mother. They both knew it wasn’t about the hem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/it-was-a-stalemate-silas-was-willing-to-live-with-and-apparently-so/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [Marriage, in my view, should be a balanced stalemate between equal adversaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/marriage-in-my-view-should-be-a-balanced-stalemate-between-equal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ronald Reagan > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. 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The only experience you gain in politics is how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/professional-politicians-like-to-talk-about-the-value-of-experience/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Where there's liberty, art succeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/where-there-s-liberty-art-succeeds/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Since I came to the White House, I got two hearing aids, a colon operation, skin cancer, a prostate operation, and I was shot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/since-i-came-to-the-white-house-i-got-two-hearing-aids-a-colon/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/a-moment-i-ve-been-dreading-george-brought-his-ne-re-do-well-son/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [On Father's Day, we pay tribute to all in our society who have taken on the responsibilitie s and joys of fatherhood. Whether our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/on-father-s-day-we-pay-tribute-to-all-in-our-society-who-have-taken/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/there-is-no-limit-to-the-amount-of-good-you-can-do-if-you-don-t-care/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know isn't so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/it-s-not-that-liberals-aren-t-smart-it-s-just-that-so-much-of-what/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/love-your-country-not-for-her-power-or-wealth-but-for-her/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Explore all 1,244 Ronald Reagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) ## More Destructive quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [What I was concerned about when I wrote the 'Downward Spiral' record was being a self-centred destructive force. The point was tearing down everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/what-i-was-concerned-about-when-i-wrote-the-downward-spiral-record/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > ['The Hunger Games' takes place in Panem, a country which is part of America. It's post-apocalyptic. There's been a global war. The Panem country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-hemsworth/the-hunger-games-takes-place-in-panem-a-country-which-is-part-of/) [Liam Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-hemsworth/) > [People project a grey energy that is very destructive to weaken you, to drain you - just as the snake uses position to capture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/people-project-a-grey-energy-that-is-very-destructive-to-weaken-you/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Slander does to a soul what cancer does to a cell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/slander-does-to-a-soul-what-cancer-does-to-a-cell/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Information from destructive activities going back a hundred years right up until today is being incorporated into the system. And as that happens the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/information-from-destructive-activities-going-back-a-hundred-years/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [One of the most destructive mistakes we Christians make is to prioritize shared beliefs over shared relationship, which is deeply ironic considering we worship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/one-of-the-most-destructive-mistakes-we-christians-make-is-to/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [I think that, honestly, people's censorship issues are personal but I disagree with most of those personal choices that I see others make. 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Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) [Browse all 1,057 Destructive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well, I would - if they realized that we - again if - if we led them back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, or strike at them after our first strike, would be so destructive they they couldn't afford it, that would hold them off.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ronald Reagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-again-if-if-we-led-them-back-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destructive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-again-if-if-we-led-them-back-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/ronald-reagan-119_destructive_well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-ag_2951298.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/ronald-reagan-119_destructive_well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-ag_2951298.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/ronald-reagan-119_destructive_well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-ag_2951298.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Well, I would - if they realized that we - again if - if we led them back to that stalemate only because our…” — Ronald Reagan", "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": "Ronald Reagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Well, I would - if they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-again-if-if-we-led-them-back-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/well-i-would-if-they-realized-that-we-again-if-if-we-led-them-back-to/#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 } } ] } ```