Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain.

I shall proceed from the simple to the complex. But in war more than in any other subject we must begin by looking at the nature of the whole; for here more than elsewhere the part and the whole must always be thought of together.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

War is the domain of physical exertion and suffering.

Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.

Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.

War is the province of danger.

Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.

War is the continuation of politics by other means.

War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means.

If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.

To secure peace is to prepare for war.

All action takes place, so to speak, in a kind of twilight, which like a fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are.

War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means.

Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult.

A conqueror is always a lover of peace.

Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.

Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination.

It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.

Principles and rules are intended to provide a thinking man with a frame of reference.

Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain.

The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be considered in isolation form their purposes.

The more a general is accustomed to place heavy demands on his soldiers, the more he can depend on their response.

Politics is the womb in which war develops.

War is not an exercise of the will directed at an inanimate matter.

The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.

There is little evidence that our individual intelligence has improved through recorded history.

The intelligence of the lower forms of animal life, like a great deal of human intelligence, does not involve a self.

The Germans certainly - the intelligence service believed that there were WMD. It turns out that we were all wrong, probably in my judgment, and that is most disturbing.

I have met with some of them - very honest fellows, who, with all their stupidity, had a kind of intelligence and an upright good sense, which cannot be the characteristics of fools.

The Gorillaz cartoons seem more real to me than the actual people on TV. Because at least you know that there's some intelligence behind the cartoons, and there's a lot of work that's gone into it, so it can't all be just a lie.

The Clinton White House today said they would start to give national security and intelligence briefings to George Bush. I don't know how well this is working out. Today after the first one Bush said, 'I've got one question: What color is the red phone?'

I wasn't privy to all of the intelligence that was coming in about Guatemala, but I did see the traffic that was coming in from Guatemala City, because it was very relevant to me, and of course I exchanged what I had with the chief of station in Guatemala City.

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.

A government for the people must depend for its success on the intelligence, the morality, the justice, and the interest of the people themselves.

Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory.

The exact measure of the progress of civilization is the degree in which the intelligence of the common mind has prevailed over wealth and brute force.

The intelligence investigation under the leadership of Senator Church, which I know has helped cause this investigation by you, points out that the agencies did not disclose certain facts to us and that certain plots were going on.

The prompt assimilation of that intelligence will be essential if we are to avoid another September 11th.

The Bush administration also was not straightforward about the intelligence it had, releasing tenuous information that fit its goal of attacking Iraq. I feel deceived.

Man is an intelligence in servitude to his organs.

We ought to recognize that we have an offensive responsibility to take the war to the terrorists where they are. That responsibility has waned in the last year as military and intelligence resources were withdrawn from Afghanistan and Pakistan to be used in Iraq.

Man is made or unmade by himself. By the right choice he ascends. As a being of power, intelligence, and love, and the lord of his own thoughts, he holds the key to every situation.

My success was not based so much on any great intelligence but on great common sense.

An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery.

You can't get closer to the heart of national sovereignty than national security and intelligence services.

Intelligence is our first line of defense against terrorism, and we must improve the collection capabilities and analysis of intelligence to protect the security of the United States and its allies.

The rare person is still interested in new advances when they are adults. There is possibly a correlation with intelligence. In any case, you have to be fairly bright to keep learning and changing attitudes as you get older.

Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself.