War Challenges Quotes

Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. The difficulties accumulate and end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced war. ... Countless minor incidents - the kind you can never really foresee - combine to lower the general level of performance, so that one always falls short of the intended goal.

You can do anything with bayonets except sit on them.

There are two things that will always be difficult for a democratic people to do: to start a war and to finish it

The only difficulty I had in declaring war arose from the incompetency of the men to whom the principle management of it was to be given.

Bob Gates understands the difficulty of going to war. This is a man who spent almost his entire life working for the government.

But also out here in this dreary, difficult war, I think history will record that this may have been one of Americas finest hours, because we took a difficult task and we succeeded.

In fact, the same difficulties faced by Reagan in the 1980-s are still there [in the beginning of 21 century]: how do you hit a bullet with a bullet? The technology is getting better, but it still is focused on one interceptor knocking down one missile. In war, there would be many more challenges, more chaos, more uncertainty.

There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it.

I do not believe that the men who served in uniform in Vietnam have been given the credit they deserve. It was a difficult war against an unorthodox enemy.

I came into a strong organization, and I hope I strengthened it more and expanded its capacity to deal with some of the challenges that might not have seemed as great 10 years ago, such as H.I.V., AIDS and children affected by war.

It is sometimes tougher to fight my superiors than the French.

Nothing is easy in war. Mistakes are always paid for in casualties and troops are quick to sense any blunder made by their commanders.

Blunders are an inescapable feature of war, because choice in military affairs lies generally between the bad and the worse.

To me, I think when women who have children are fighting overseas, that's long distance. And that's very challenging. I really honor those families that do that.

A country that has its own major agencies at war is not going to fight a war well.

Never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter.