Words of War
| "The moral is to the physical as three is to one," Napoleon "What is best in life? To crush your enemies, have them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." "The greatest enjoyment of a man is to overcome his enemies, drive them before him, snatch what they have, to see the people to whom they are dear with their faces bathed in tears, to ride their horses, to squeeze in his arms their daughters and women." Genghis Khan, from Jami' al-tawarikh (Ilkhanate's "History of the World") You have no idea how much it contributes to the general politeness and pleasantness of diplomacy when you have a little quiet armed force in the background. George Kennan (1904-2005) Whoever saved his nerves did not save his honor. | Steel isn't strong, flesh is stronger! What is steel compared to the hand that wields it? Thulsa Doom Then out spake brave Horatius The Captain of the Gate: “To every man upon this Earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers And the temples of his gods.” "One crowded hour of glorious life Is worth an age without a name." Thomas Osbert Mordaunt (1730–1809) "We all end up dead, it's just a question of how and why.... Every man dies, not every man really lives... Fight and you may die, Run, and you will live. At least for a while. It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom..." Alba gu bràth! ["Scotland forever!"] attributed to William Wallace “Rascals, do you want to live forever?” King Friedrich the Great of Prussia at the Battle of Kolín 18 June 1757 | |
" ... war had been literally continuous, though strictly speaking it had not always been the same war. For several months during his childhood there had been confused street fighting in London itself, some of which he remembered vividly. But to trace out the history of the whole period, to say who was fighting whom at any given moment, would have been utterly impossible,... Oceania was at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia. In no public or private utterance was it ever admitted that the three powers had at any time been grouped along different lines.... | ||
| "War is essentially an evil thing. Its consequences are not confined to the belligerent states alone, but affect the whole world. To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." Judgment of the International Military Tribunal |
"Violence, naked force has resolved more conflicts throughout history than any other factor. The contrary opinion, that violence doesn't solve anything, is wishful thinking at its worst. People who forget that always die." "War is not violence and killing, pure and simple; war is controlled violence, for a purpose. The purpose of war is to support your government's decisions by force. The purpose is never to kill the enemy just to be killing him . . . but to make him do what you want him to do." Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers “The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion […] but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.” Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations |
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| The Review Conference of the Rome Statute, held in 2010 in Kampala (Uganda), adopted, inter alia, a set of amendments relating to the definition of the crime of aggression and the provisions for the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction. The International Criminal Court may exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression after 1 January 2017, once thirty States Parties have ratified the amendments, and subject to a decision by the Assembly to activate that jurisdiction.
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The “crime of aggression” means the planning, preparation, initiation or execution, by a person in a position effectively to exercise control over or to direct the political or military action of a State, of an act of aggression which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations. An “act of aggression” means the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations.
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| Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily. -- Napoleon Bonaparte In war, moral power is to physical as three parts out of four.” -- Napoleon Bonaparte | "How easily people can fool themselves into believing wars can be won by some wonderful invention rather than by hard-fighting and superior leadership." General George S. Patton | |
| Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead! But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger: Stiffen the sinews, conjure up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage: Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean. Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide; Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit To his full height. On, on, you noblest English, Dishonour not your mothers: now attest, That those whom you call’d fathers did beget you. Be copy now to men of grosser blood, And teach them how to war. Henry V, Act III, Scene I Blood and destruction shall be so in use And dreadful objects so familiar That mothers shall but smile when they behold Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war; All pity choked with custom of fell deeds: Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war; That this foul deed shall smell above the earth... Julius Caesar: Act III, Scene 1 | he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made And crowns for convoy put into his purse: We would not die in that man's company That fears his fellowship to die with us. This day is called the feast of Crispian: He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named, And rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:' Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars. And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.' ... From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remember'd; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. Henry V | Act 4, Scene 3 | |
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"Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self-respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, every one of you, were kids you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big-league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American. You are not all going to die. Only 2% of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do! I don't want to get any messages saying, "I am holding my position". We are not holding a goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time." Patton, June 5, 1944, speech to US troops in England]
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