Quotes from Byron Farwell

Men seek solutions to specific problems, and, as history never really repeats itself, these kinds of solutions history rarely provides. What it does offer is a vast array of examples which illustrate general principles

Armies have always been viewed with suspicion in democratic societies because they are the least democratic of all social institutions. They are, in fact, not democratic at all. Governments which have tried to eliminate the officer class or to blur the distinction between officer and man have not been successful. Armies stand as disturbing reminders that democratic processes are not always the best, living and perpetual proof that, in at least this one area, the caste system works.

Guerrillas by themselves cannot win wars, not in the military sense. They can keep their enemies from winning; they can hope that in time their strength will increase to the point where they can put orthodox armies in the field to confront and defeat their enemies in conventional battles; they can hope to so wear down, annoy, exasperate their foes that they will wring concessions from them; or they can hope for foreign intervention.