Generally Speaking

"Why, my soldiers asked of me, surrender military advantages to an enemy in the field? I could not answer." Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Why don't the Generals of the U.S. Military give public speeches anymore? There are scores of great speeches, old audio and film clips, books, etc. documenting the passion and sometimes brilliance of these military leaders under the direst of circumstances.

We still have great Generals. Gen David Patraeus makes his detractors look foolish each and every time he speaks to Congress, and even Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf had some good one liners. “Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.” Here here!

Have you noticed the silence of the Monday Morning Quarterback Democrat Generals these days? Come to think of it, are we still in Iraq? I never hear about it anymore on TV or in the newspapers. Oh, yeah... we are winning. The surge worked.

The media is a disgrace.


"But once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision.

In war there is no substitute for victory.

There are some who for varying reasons would appease Red China. They are blind to history's clear lesson, for history teaches with unmistakable emphasis that appeasement but begets new and bloodier war. It points to no single instance where this end has justified that means, where appeasement had led to more than a sham peace." Gen Douglas MacArthur

"Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men." Gen. George Patton

"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men." Gen. George Patton




"Americans never quit." General Douglas MacArthur

Unfortunately this was uttered prior to Vietnam, Somalia, and the current War in Iraq. Let us learn from history and re-start the habit of "never quitting" again.


"I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight." Gen. George Patton



"In the end, Iraqis will decide the outcome of this struggle. Our task is to help them gain the time they need to save their country. To do that, many of us will live and fight alongside them. Together, we will face down the terrorists, insurgents and criminals who slaughter the innocent. Success will require discipline, fortitude and initiative - qualities that you have in abundance." Gen. David Petraeus



“We have our teeth into the jugular, and we need to keep it there.” -- Gen. David Petraeus



"It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf"

There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), Italian political philosopher, statesman.