Quote

The idea that a war can be won by standing on the defensive and waiting for the enemy to attack is a dangerous fallacy, which owes its inception to the desire to evade the price of victory.

— Douglas Haig

Sentiment: NEGATIVE

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✓Similar Perspectives

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

— Sun Tzu

Because war is a competition involving life and death, and in which national security and vital interests are at stake, establishing an objective other than winning is not only counterproductive, but also irresponsible and wasteful. In some circumstances, it is also unethical.

— H. R. McMaster

Any time the Western way of war can be unleashed on an enemy stupid enough to enter its arena, victory is assured.

— Victor Davis Hanson

Once you start a war, you have to win.

— G. Gordon Liddy

The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

— Sun Tzu

War, except in self-defense, is a failure of moral imagination.

— Bill Moyers

There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.

— Niccolo Machiavelli

✗Opposing Perspectives

Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.

— Donald Trump

The utterly fallacious idea at the heart of the pro-war argument is that it is the duty of the anti-war argument to provide an alternative to war. The onus is on them to explain just cause.

— Zadie Smith

Preventing a war is tantamount to winning a war.

— Raul Castro