Quotes About Deception

All war is based on deception.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

When you cannot be deceived by men you will have realised the wisdom of strategy.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.

A man's idea in a game of cards is war, cruel, devastating, and pitiless. A lady's idea of it is a combination of larceny, embezzlement and burglary.

Propaganda must not serve the truth, especially as it might bring out something favorable for the opponent.

The first casualty when war comes is truth.

The world should be worried about those who go around the planet with a can of gasoline in one hand and a box of matches in the other, pretending to sell fire insurance.

All warfare is based on deception. There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him.

The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.

To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these things they misname empire; and where they make a wilderness, they call it peace.

The old Lie:Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.

When nonviolence begins halfway through the war with the aggressor calling time out, it exposes itself as a ruse.

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them.

The War office kept three sets of figures - one to mislead the public, another to mislead the cabinet and the third to mislead itself.

Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.

In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory.

War in the end is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of soldiers by politicians, and of idealists by cynics.

A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.

Lying and war are always associated. Listen closely when you hear a war-maker try to defend his current war: If he moves his lips he's lying.

O divine art of subtlety and secrecy!

I treat policies like war. I hoodwink one flank so as to trounce the other. In my family we kneel only to God.