Quotes about War Management

R. Lee Ermey

The biggest problem was the politicians knew nothing about fighting a war.

Andrew J. Bacevich

As with budget deficits or cost overruns on weapons purchases, members of the national security apparatus — elected and appointed officials, senior military officers and other policy insiders — accept war as a normal condition. Once, the avoidance of war figured as a national priority. On those occasions when war proved unavoidable, the idea was to end the conflict as expeditiously as possible on favorable terms. These precepts no longer apply. With war transformed into a perpetual endeavor, expectations have changed. In Washington, war has become tolerable, an enterprise to be managed rather than terminated as quickly as possible. Like other large-scale government projects, war now serves as a medium through which favors are bestowed, largess distributed and ambitions satisfied.

Bill Shuster

We shouldn't have politicians micromanaging this war because it is complex and unconventional.

William H. Crawford

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.

Tom Seaver

These kids today, they want to be men, they want to be foxhole guys, but they’re not being allowed to do that. Imagine if these computer geeks who are running baseball now were allowed to run a war? They’d be telling our soldiers: ‘That’s enough. You’ve fired too many bullets from your rifle this week!’

J. F. C. Fuller

In the World War nothing was more dreadful to witness than a chain of men starting with a battalion commander and ending with an army commander sitting in telephone boxes, improvised or actual, talking, talking, talking, in place of leading, leading, leading.

Ellen G. White

There are commanding officers who are in sympathy with the rebels. While they are desirous of having the Union preserved, they despise those who are anti slavery… It seems impossible to have the war conducted successfully, for many in our own ranks are continually working to favor the South, and our armies have been repulsed and unmercifully slaughtered on account of the management of these pro-slavery men

Abraham Lincoln

One war at a time.

Charles Wilkes, a Union Navy Captain enforcing the naval blockade of the South, intercepted a British mail ship in the Caribbean and discovered two Confederate diplomats on board. He took them into custody to the cheers of Congress. England, however, was outraged that passengers—diplomats—on one of their ships was seized after boarding. This was technically an act of war. Abraham Lincoln, to the distress of many in Congress ordered the Confederate diplomats released explaining with this quotation.

Tom Seaver

Imagine if these computer geeks who are running baseball now were allowed to run a war? They'd be telling our soldiers: 'That's enough. You've fired too many bullets from your rifle this week!'

Thomas Paine

On this question of war, three things are to be considered. First, the right of declaring it: secondly, the expense of supporting it: thirdly, the mode of conducting it after it is declared.

War Management Quotes