US Presidency
1951

It must be clear to everyone that the United States can not, and will not, sit idly by and await foreign conquest. The only question is: What is the best time to meet the threat and how is the best way to meet it? The best time to meet the threat is in the beginning. It is easier to put out a fire in the beginning when it is small than after it has become a roaring blaze. And the best way to meet the threat of aggression is for the peace-loving nations to act together. If they don't act together, they are likely to be picked off, one by one. If they had followed the right policies in the 1930 's, if the free countries had acted together to crush the aggression of the dictators, and if they had acted in the beginning when the aggression was small, there probably would have been no World War II.