Michel Foucault Quotes

Americans tended to think of war as something that had to be done from time to time, for a particular purpose or goal. They fought not for the sake of fighting but for the sake of winning.

If at war, understand what it takes to win: Set a goal, define victory and fully support the effort. Leave no doubt that you respect the troops and appreciate their service.

And we will win the war, and there will be costs. But the military folks understand that, and so do I, and so does the Secretary of Defense.

I don't object to its being called "McNamara's war." I think it is a very important war and I am pleased to be identified with it and do whatever I can to win it.

Guns don't win wars; guns and bombs may kill a man but they cannot make him follow their lead, nor will they ever coerce an unyielding man to yield.

Both candidates in this election [2004] pledge to end this war and bring our troops home. The great difference - the great difference is that I intend to win it first.

To make war all you need is intelligence. But to win you need talent and material.

The art of war in its highest point of view is policy.

It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.

Most wars are not won in a single battle.

I say when you get into a war, you should win as quick as you can, because your losses become a function of the duration of the war. I believe when you get in a war, get everything you need and win it.

Wars may be fought by decent men, but they're not won by them.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.

The idea that a war can be won by standing on the defensive and waiting for the enemy to attack is a dangerous fallacy, which owes its inception to the desire to evade the price of victory.

If men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

The whole art of war consists of guessing at what is on the other side of the hill.

You want to win the wars you fight. That’s why you have to pick your wars carefully.

I think that our weakness is understanding that when we go to war, we go to war to win.

Isn't it essential in any prelude to a war to be sure of your allies and be sure of your objectives?

He that makes a good war makes a good peace.

The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish ... the kind of war on which they are embarking.

The transition from the defensive to the offensive is one of the most delicate operations in war.

Knowledge in war is very simple, being concerned with so few subjects, and only with their final results at that. But this does not make its application easy.