Trust, but Verify

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Trust, but Verify was a signature phrase of Ronald Reagan. He used it in public, although he was not the first person known to use it. When Reagan used this phrase, he was usually discussing relations with the Soviet Union and he almost always presented it as a translation of the Russian proverb "doveryai, no proveryai" (Russian: Доверяй, но проверяй) - Trust, but Verify. At the signing of the INF Treaty he used it again and his counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev responded: "You repeat that at every meeting," to which Reagan answered "I like it."^[1]

The similar phrase "Trust and Verify" was also the motto of the On-Site Inspection Agency.^[2]

"Trust, but Verify", is also the name of a 2005 book by David Lindgren "Trust but Verify: Imagery Analysis in the Cold War", about his experiences with satellite imagery during the Cold War, and the basics about them.

This quote was supposedly a favourite one of Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, builder of the Soviet secret police. It is in use in former Czechoslovakia for example.

This quote was also frequently used by military capital defense attorney Major David Edward Coombs when dealing with government counsel. Major Coombs also used this phrase with PBs.

This quote is also frequently used by TV actor David Caruso's character Horatio Caine in CBS's series CSI: Miami.

Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals also use this phrase throughout the song 'The Very Best of Neil Diamond' on their 2009 album Dark Days/Light Years.