Appeasing evil

The operations of the Center for Security Policy are guided by the philosophy of "peace through strength," a belief that war is best avoided and peace best assured when just nations maintain the power to deter aggression. This wisdom dates back at least to the Roman writer Vegetius, who famously said "si vis pacem, para bellum" – if you want peace, prepare for war.

Modern history’s best example of the dangers inherent in abandoning this wisdom is the infamous "peace for our time" statement made by Britain’s then-Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1938. Pictured at right, this incident occurred as Chamberlain returned to England from the landmark Munich Conference in which the nations of Western Europe signed away the northern part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler’s tender mercies.

The pacific hopes of the West were ill-founded, because their fulfillment depended on the intentions of the Nazi leader, who was bent on a war of conquest. By abandoning their realist tradition of national defense and martial preparedness, the Europeans allowed a mortal threat to metastasize and grow, instead of striking it at early and preventing it from taking shape.

The Center – its leadership, its fellows, and its staff – take history’s lesson to heart. They unswervingly affirm the U.S.’s need to maintain it military advantage, lest the capabilities of those hostile to us grow so that they become a serious, pressing danger. The "peace through strength" dictum also mandates that policymakers should avoid conciliation with aggressive regimes, which only empowers and emboldens them.

It is only with the support of concerned citizens that the Center can continue its mission of fortifying American power, which redounds to the benefit of our own security and that of the world at large.