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You can't help but... with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say, 'Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn't be facing what we are facing today.'

Norman Schwarzkopf

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Norman Schwarzkopf
Age: 78 †
Born: 1934
Born: August 22
Died: 2012
Died: December 27
General
Military Officer
Trenton
New Jersey
H. Norman Schwarzkopf
Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.
H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.
Back
Look
Hindsight
Looks
Facing
Done
Wouldn
Different
Probably
Something
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Today

More quotes by Norman Schwarzkopf

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I can't say enough about the two Marine divisions. If I use words like 'brilliant,' it would really be an under description of the absolutely superb job that they did in breaching the so-called 'impenetrable barrier.' It was a classic- absolutely classic- military breaching of a very very tough minefield, barbed wire, fire trenches-type barrier.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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Had we taken all of Iraq, we would have been like a dinosaur in the tar pit - we would still be there, and we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of that occupation.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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Well, unfortunately, I have always regretted the fact that I have a temper, but I also have, you know, have great love and respect for all of the people that have worked for me. I think like everything else, this is one of those things that has been blown out of proportion.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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I have seen competent leaders who stood in front of a platoon and all they saw was a platoon. But great leaders stand in front of a platoon and see it as 44 individuals, each of whom has aspirations, each of who wants to live, each of whom wants to do good.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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If it had been our intention to take Iraq, if it had been our intention to destroy the country, if it had been our intention to overrun the country, we could have done it unopposed.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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A professional soldier understands that war means killing people, war means maiming people, war means families left without fathers and mothers.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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But I would defy anyone to go back over the years and tell me anyone whose career I've ruined, anyone whom I've driven out of the service, anyone I've fired from a job.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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I like to say I'm not a hero. I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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I don't consider myself dovish and I certainly don't consider myself hawkish. Maybe I would describe myself as owlishthat is wise enough to understand that you want to do everything possible to avoid war.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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I prided myself on being unflappable even in the most chaotic of circumstances.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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From the time I was twelve years old until I retired last year at the age of fifty-seven, the Army was my life. I loved commanding soldiers and being around people who had made a serious commitment to serve their country.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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Fear will keep you alive in a war. Fear will keep you alive in business. There's nothing wrong with fear.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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First of all, Saddam did not win the war, even though he says he did, I mean, you know, that's a joke and everybody in the world knows it.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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I'm not a politician. I'd make a lousy politician.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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I hate war. Absolutely, I hate war.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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To be an effective leader, you have to have a manipulative streak - you have to figure out the people working for you and give each tasks that will take advantage of his strength.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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Had the United States and the United Kingdom gone on alone to capture Baghdad, under the provisions of the Geneva and Hague conventions we would have been considered occupying powers and therefore would have been responsible for all the costs of maintaining or restoring government, education and other services for the people of Iraq.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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What people don't understand is this is something that we only have in America. There is no other country in the world where the ordinary citizen can go out and enjoy hunting and fishing. There's no other nation in the world where that happens. And it's very much a part of our heritage.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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Judge your enemy based upon capabilities, not intent, you have to look at the enemy and really almost make a worst case call every time.
Norman Schwarzkopf