Chris Kyle · 528 pages
Rating: (87.6K votes)
“The joke was that President Bush only declared war when Starbucks was hit. You can mess with the U.N. all you want, but when you start interfering with the right to get caffeinated, someone has to pay.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“Great way to fight a war - be prepared to defend yourself for winning.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“I am a strong Christian. Not a perfect one—not close. But I strongly believe in God, Jesus, and the Bible. When I die, God is going to hold me accountable for everything I’ve done on earth. He may hold me back until last and run everybody else through the line, because it will take so long to go over all my sins. “Mr. Kyle, let’s go into the backroom. . . .” Honestly, I don’t know what will really happen on Judgment Day. But what I lean toward is that you know all of your sins, and God knows them all, and shame comes over you at the reality that He knows. I believe the fact that I’ve accepted Jesus as my savior will be my salvation. But in that backroom or whatever it is when God confronts me with my sins, I do not believe any of the kills I had during the war will be among them. Everyone I shot was evil. I had good cause on every shot. They all deserved to die.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“The thing we all had in common wasn’t muscle; it was the will to do whatever it takes.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“MY REGRETS ARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE I COULDN’T SAVE—Marines, soldiers, my buddies. I still feel their loss. I still ache for my failure to protect them.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“Marines—you beat them down and they come back for more.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“I don’t care how much money you get,” my dad used to tell me. “It’s not worth it if you’re not happy.” That’s the most valuable piece of advice he ever gave me: Do what you want in life. To this day I’ve tried to follow that philosophy.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“I’ve lived the literal meaning of the “land of the free” and “home of the brave.” It’s not corny for me. I feel it in my heart. I feel it in my chest. Even at a ball game, when someone talks during the anthem or doesn’t take off his hat, it pisses me off. I’m not one to be quiet about it, either.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“Savage, despicable evil. That's what we were fighting in Iraq.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“But real life doesn't travel in a perfect straight line; it doesn't necessarily have that 'all lived happily ever after' bit. You have to work on where you're going.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“anyone who has a problem with what guys do over there is incapable of empathy. People want America to have a certain image when we fight. Yet I would guess if someone were shooting at them and they had to hold their family members while they bled out against an enemy who hid behind their children, played dead only to throw a grenade as they got closer, and who had no qualms about sending their toddler to die from a grenade from which they personally pulled the pin—they would be less concerned with playing nicely.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“I signed up to protect this country. I do not choose the wars.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“In my experience, Marines are gung ho no matter what. They will all fight to the death. Everyone of them just wants to get out there and kill. They are bad-ass, hard-charging mothers.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“It's funny --- sometimes the strongest individuals feel the worst when events are out of their control, and they can't really be there for the people they love. I've felt it myself.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“They had signs about baby killers and murderers and whatever, protesting the troops who were going over to fight. They were protesting the wrong people. We didn’t vote in Congress; we didn’t vote to go to war. I signed up to protect this country. I do not choose the wars.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“YOU KNOW HOW RAMADI WAS WON? We went in and killed all the bad people we could find. When we started, the decent (or potentially decent) Iraqis didn’t fear the United States; they did fear the terrorists. The U.S. told them, “We’ll make it better for you.” The terrorists said, “We’ll cut your head off.” Who would you fear? Who would you listen to? When we went into Ramadi, we told the terrorists, “We’ll cut your head off. We will do whatever we have to and eliminate you.” Not only did we get the terrorists’ attention—we got everyone’s attention. We showed we were the force to be reckoned with. That’s where the so-called Great Awakening came. It wasn’t from kissing up to the Iraqis. It was from kicking butt. The tribal leaders saw that we were bad-asses, and they’d better get their act together, work together, and stop accommodating the insurgents. Force moved that battle. We killed the bad guys and brought the leaders to the peace table. That is how the world works.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“Why a ball cap? Ninety percent of being cool is looking cool. And you look so much cooler wearing a ball cap.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“Yes, SEALs did a good job, and gave their blood. But as we told the Army and Marine officers and enlisted men we fought beside, we’re no better than those men when it comes to courage and worth.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“I’m proud of my service, but I sure as hell didn’t do it for any medal. They don’t make me any better or less than any other guy who served. Medals never tell the whole story.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“Everyone talks about there being no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but they seem to be referring to completed nuclear bombs, not the many deadly chemical weapons or precursors that Saddam had stockpiled.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“We killed the bad guys and brought the leaders to the peace table. That is how the world works.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“way I figure it, if you send us to do a job, let us do it. That’s why you have admirals and generals—let them supervise us, not some fat-ass congressman sitting in a leather chair smoking a cigar back in DC in an air-conditioned office,”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“I thought I should be stronger than was possible.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“People ask me all the time, “How many people have you killed?” My standard response is, “Does the answer make me less, or more, of a man?”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“People want America to have a certain image when we fight. Yet I would guess if someone were shooting at them and they had to hold their family members while they bled out against an enemy who hid behind their children, played dead only to throw a grenade as they got closer, and who had no qualms about sending their toddler to die from a grenade from which they personally pulled the pin—they would be less concerned with playing nicely.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“I felt sad for everything he'd been through. And I felt terribly torn about needing him. I did need him, tremendously. But at the same time, I had to get along without him so much that I developed an attitude that I didn't need him, or at least that I shouldn't need him. - Taya Kyle, his wife”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“When you’re working with Army and Marine Corps units, you immediately notice a difference. The Army is pretty tough, but their performance can depend on the individual unit. Some are excellent, filled with hoorah and first-class warriors. A few are absolutely horrible; most are somewhere in between. In my experience, Marines are gung ho no matter what. They will all fight to the death. Every one of them just wants to get out there and kill. They are bad-ass, hard-charging mothers.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“You can mess with the U.N. all you want, but when you start interfering with the right to get caffeinated, someone has to pay.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“AT ANOTHER LOCATION, WE FOUND BARRELS OF CHEMICAL material that was intended for use as biochemical weapons. Everyone talks about there being no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but they seem to be referring to completed nuclear bombs, not the many deadly chemical weapons or precursors that Saddam had stockpiled. Maybe the reason is that the writing on the barrels showed that the chemicals came from France and Germany, our supposed Western allies.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
“I also learned how to take the images and paste them onto PowerPoint for briefings and the like. Yes, even SEALs use PowerPoint.”
― Chris Kyle, quote from American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
Chris Kyle
Born place: in Odessa, Texas, The United States
Born date April 8, 1974
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