Quotes from Norman Schwarzkopf

I can't even begin to visualize myself as a five-star general... When I think of the people who are five-star generals, I can't even see myself standing in their shadow.

I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war.

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.

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.

War's a profanity because, let's face it, you've got two opposing sides trying to settle their differences by killing as many of each other as they can.

I prided myself on being unflappable even in the most chaotic of circumstances.

For the entire first part of my career, I prided myself on being unflappable even in the most chaotic of circumstances.

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

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.

It is God's job to forgive Osama Bin Laden. It is our job to arrange a face to face meeting.

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

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

I am not one of these guys who is just going to waste American lives by throwing people needlessly in frontal attacks up against the enemy if I can avoid doing that.

I've managed to convince my wife that somewhere in the Bible it says, 'Man cannot have too many shotguns and fishing poles.'

I do not want to be a pawn in a political campaign.

I'm not a politician. I'd make a lousy politician.

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 placed in command, take charge.

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

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

Ninety-nine percent of leadership failures are failures of character.

Leadership consists of character and strategy. If you can't have both, opt for character.

The Patriot missile is a point defence missile. Point defence means that you put the missile at a location to defend a very specific target such as an airfield, a supply dump or a headquarters.

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.