Norman Schwarzkopf Quotes

"Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion."

"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."

"Any soldier worth his salt should be antiwar. And still there are things worth fighting for."

"As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man, I want you to know that."

"You learn far more from negative leadership than from positive leadership. Because you learn how not to do it. And, therefore, you learn how to do it."

"True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job anyhow, that's what courage is."

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."

"Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy."

"When placed in command, take charge."

"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."

"Had we taken all of Iraq, we would have been like a dinosaur in the tar pit - we would still be there, and we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of that occupation."

"I do hunt, and I do fish, and I don't apologize to anybody for hunting and fishing."

"But I would defy anyone to go back over the years and tell me anyone whose career I've ruined, anyone whom I've driven out of the service, anyone I've fired from a job."

"Generals aren't in the business of commenting on the correctness or incorrectness of the President's decisions. Anybody who thinks he should be able to do that ought to be fired on the spot."

"He is neither a strategist nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general. Other than that he's a great military man."

"I hate war. Absolutely, I hate war."

"I think any student of military strategy would tell you that in order to attack a position, you should have a ratio of approximately 3 to 1 in favor of the attacker."

"There's no doubt in my mind that whichever commander ordered the blowing up of Kamisiyah did so in following the instructions that he had received."

"I've got to tell you what, the soldier doesn't fight very hard for a leader who is going to shoot him, okay, on his own whim. That's not what military leadership is all about."

"I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war."

"I'm not a type-B personality who knows I have a cancer growing inside of me and can live with the knowledge. I go into a kung-fu attack position when I go through the door of a hospital."

"When the Normandy Invasion was planned, a very specific strategic objective was given, and that strategic objective was the basis upon which the plan for the Normandy Invasion was derived."

"I saw Kuwait many times before the war. I remember it as a beautiful place, full of very nice people, and it's a tragedy to see that somebody could set out to deliberately destroy a country the way the Iraqis have."

"Tanks being deployed far forward is an indication of offensive action; tanks in depth is an indication of defensive action."

"They say the good Lord doesn't charge you for the days you hunt and fish, and I believe that."

"First of all, Saddam did not win the war, even though he says he did, I mean, you know, that's a joke and everybody in the world knows it."

"It's nice to feel that you have a purpose."

"Well, unfortunately, I have always regretted the fact that I have a temper, but I also have, you know, have great love and respect for all of the people that have worked for me. I think like everything else, this is one of those things that has been blown out of proportion."

"I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army, and I'm very proud of that. But I've always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I'd like to think I'm a caring human being."

"I get angry at a principle, not a person."