You have to keep listening and thinking and being critical and self-critical. Remember General Nivelle, in the First World War, at Verdun? He said he had the solution and then destroyed the French Army until it mutinied. H. R. McMaster More Quotes by H. R. McMaster More Quotes From H. R. McMaster Be skeptical of concepts that divorce war from its political nature, particularly those that promise fast, cheap victory through technology. H. R. McMaster victorytechnologynaturewar People fight today for the same fundamental reasons the Greek historian Thucydides identified nearly 2,500 years ago: fear, honor, and interest. H. R. McMaster fightfeartodaypeople What we can afford least is to define the problem of future war as we would like it to be and, by doing so, introduce into our defense vulnerabilities based on self-delusion. H. R. McMaster doingfutureproblemwar War is, in fact, an extension of politics, and in any war, military operations have to be conducted in such a way that they contribute to sustainable political outcomes consistent with vital interests that are at stake in that war. H. R. McMaster politicspoliticalwarway It is in their inherent moral components that recent Western strategies may be deficient. What percentage of the populations in countries engaged in the 14-year effort in Afghanistan could even name the three main Taliban groups with whom their soldiers have been engaged? H. R. McMaster soldiersnamemoraleffort The professed war-weariness among populations who have sent only a small percentage of their sons and daughters to fight in recent wars may derive from a failure to communicate effectively what is at stake in those wars and explain why the efforts are worthy of the risks, resources, and sacrifices necessary to sustain the strategy. H. R. McMaster riskssmallfightfailure Every time you treat an Iraqi disrespectfully, you are working for the enemy. H. R. McMaster treatyoutimeenemy It's astounding the degree to which these communities are intermarried. Iraq is a crazy quilt of ethnicities and religious sects. H. R. McMaster degreewhichcrazyreligious I think any of us who have been involved in the mission of Iraq have developed a great deal of affection for the Iraqi people and are emotionally invested in what we think is a vital mission... So I think any of my contemporaries would welcome the opportunity to go back and make a contribution to this extraordinarily important mission. H. R. McMaster greatwelcomeopportunitypeople
