What was Golda Meir's central belief about national security?
My fundamental belief, hammered into me by the history of our people and the realities of our region, is that a nation's survival depends on its strength. You can only be a great nation, a secure nation, if you are strong. This isn't some abstract notion; it's a hard, cold fact. We learned in the desert to live on little, but we never learned to live in fear. True peace, lasting peace, is built on a foundation of demonstrable strength, not on goodwill alone. We must be able to defend ourselves, to deter aggression, and to negotiate from a position of power. Anything less is a dangerous gamble with the future.
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