Scott Westerfeld Quotes

If women and children have cruelly and needlessly suffered, if without reason cities have been wrecked, the world should know that.

Yes, war is hell. It is awful. It involves human beings killing other human beings, sometimes innocent civilians. That is why we despise war.

Hiroshima has become a metaphor not just for nuclear war but for war and destruction and violence toward civilians. It's not just the idea we should not use nuclear arms. We should not start another war because it's madness.

The real trouble with war (modern war) is that it gives no one a chance to kill the right people.

It is very difficult to do one's duty. I was considered a barbarian because at the storming of the Praga, 7,000 people were killed. Europe says that I am a monster. I myself have read this in the papers, but I would have liked to talk to people about this and ask them: is it not better to finish a war with the death of 7,000 people rather than to drag it on and kill 100,000.

Once killing starts, it is difficult to draw the line.

One should refer to things by their accurate designation. What is happening right now in Vietnam is a form of torture. That is why the bombings are an infamy. Of such there are many in modern history. They are often linked by name: Guernica, Oradour, Babij Jar, Katyn, Lidice, Sharpeville and Treblinka. Now there is another name to add to the row: Hanoi, the Christmas of 1972.

One active campaign, a smart action, and burning two or three their towns, will set everything to rights.

Unless the rebels lay down their arms and release their prisoners I will proceed to set fire to and totally destroy the towns of Killinchy, Killyleagh, Ballynahinch, Saintfield and every farmhouse and cottage in the vicinity of those places, carry off the stock and cattle and out everyone to the sword who may be found in arms.

The abuse of civilians and combatants has existed since the dawn of time.

War is a lot of things and it's useless to pretend that exciting isn't one of them. (pg. 144)

War is the matter which fills all history; and consequently the only, or almost the only, view in which we can see the external of political society is in a hostile shape: and the only actions to which we have always seen, and still see, all of them intent, are such as tend to the destruction of one another.

As far as I can see it, 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.

War is the science of destruction.

They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.

Last night the United States dropped four 2,000 pound bombs on Saddam Hussein. I don't know anything about explosives, but, my God, do those things even need to explode?

Obama is making a choice now that will lead to the deaths of many thousands of civilians in Afghanistan by American hands. By ordinary standards of presidents, he is a decent man. But those standards aren't good enough. He's in a position either to kill or not to kill, and he's made the decision to kill.

This is a war universe. War all the time. That is its nature. There may be other universes based on all sorts of other principles, but ours seems to be based on war and games.

We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.

The problem is that the Iraqi people are facing atrocities from both sides - Zarqawi and also the American troops at times. The Zarqawi groups uses car bombs, the Americans use other bombs. You also know what they do in the prisons.

Cities are made for enemies to destroy.

I don't think the war in Afghanistan was ruthlessly enough waged.

The dropping of bombs on people - isn't that terrorism?

To win in Vietnam, we will have to exterminate a nation.

If we don't end war, war will end us.