Hackworth Quotes & Sayings

So it's not a matter of the military lying to the press, but it's the job of the military to deny the press any information that will provide aid and comfort to the enemy. — David Hackworth

Life is a business that does not cover the costs. — Arthur Schopenhauer

Get the big idea and all else follows. — B. J. Palmer

The primary ideology that operated to create, socialize, and reproduce them was not the ideology of racism. It was that of universalism. — Immanuel Wallerstein

We ignore the blackness of outer space and pay attention to the stars, especially if they seem to order themselves into constellations. "Common as the air" meant something worthless, but Hackworth knew that every breath of air that Fiona drew, lying in her little bed at night, just a silver flow in the moonlight, was used by her body to make skin and hair and bones. The air became Fiona, and deserving - no, demanding - of love. Ordering matter was the sole endeavor of Life, whether it was a jumble of self-replicating molecules in the primordial ocean, or a steam-powered English mill turning weeds into clothing, or Fiona lying in her bed turning air into Fiona. — Neal Stephenson

If a policy is wrongheaded feckless and corrupt I take it personally and consider it a moral obligation to sound off and not shut up until it's fixed. — David H. Hackworth

I knew how to die. It was the living that scared me. — Julie Murphy

It's human nature to start taking things for granted again when danger isn't banging loudly on the door. — David Hackworth

The universe was a disorderly mess, the only interesting bits being the organised anomalies. Hackworth had once taken his family out rowing on the pond in the park, and the ends of the yellow oars spun off compact vortices, and Fiona, who had taught herself the physics of liquids through numerous experimental beverage spills and in the bathtub, demanded an explanation for these holes in water. She leaned over the gunwale, Gwendolyn holding the sash of her dress, and felt those vortices with her hands, wanting to understand them. The rest of the pond, simply water in no particular order, was uninteresting. — Neal Stephenson

Respecting your opponent is the key to winning any bout. Hold your enemy in contempt and you may miss the strategy behind his moves — David Hackworth

That's what supporting the troops is really all about - making sure American grunts get the right stuff! — David Hackworth

Our generals talk a good game about taking care of their grunts, and the majority of our Beltway politicians bay with moralistic fervor about how they, too, support the troops. — David Hackworth

Globalization, meaning the global expansion of a market economy, is the only way we can guarantee widespread prosperity and peace. A lot of nations are just so small, that unless they can sell their goods and services on the market they're never going to develop, they don't have an internal market that's big enough to sustain anything. — Douglas Massey

What we need to do is follow the axiom of World War II which was 'Loose Lips Sink Ships' and the media has really got to follow that. — David Hackworth

Because our homeland and very survival are once more at stake, the American people can't afford to treat this new war against terrorism like they did Vietnam. — David Hackworth

Terrorism, too, must be excised wherever it exists, which will take years, and which can't happen without the total commitment and the everyday involvement of the American people. — David Hackworth

That's because international Islamic religious fanatics have the same goal as the Axis fascists - the destruction of our way of life. — David Hackworth

New Zealand's food and beverage industry is the lynchpin of the country's prosperity. Which may explain why it has concentrated their governments' minds. — Anthony Pratt

Fortunately, it's still not too late to develop a comprehensive global strategy to eliminate our real enemy. — David Hackworth

War is the ultimate reality-based horror show. — David Hackworth

In dealing with those who share his bed, the enlightened ruler may enjoy their beauty but should not listen to their special pleas ... — Han Fei

The old saying that war is a racket has taken on an even more shameful meaning. — David Hackworth

Of course, it's imperative that we stabilize Iraq and quickly reduce our armed role there. — David Hackworth

We citizens don't need to know every detail of every military operation in this new kind of war. Nor should the media tell us and hence our enemy. — David Hackworth

Our fumbling government's response since Beirut - during both Republican and Democratic administrations - has been to cut and run, or to flat ignore this growing threat, apparently hoping it would go away. — David Hackworth

I thought we stopped using grunts as guinea pigs decades ago. Even the Nazis didn't run medical experiments on their own troops in combat. This book explodes like a grenade in the Pentagon's privy. Red it and weep; better yet, get mad."

Col. David H. Hackworth (U.S. Army, ret.) — Gary Matsumoto

Fighting terrorism is not unlike fighting a deadly cancer. It can't be treated just where it's visible - every diseased cell in the body must be destroyed. — David Hackworth

Only a foolish woman would allow her man to earn his living as a moving target. — David H. Hackworth

Grunts on the line, where the enemy wants them dead, still goof off - even knowing that by letting their guard down they might die. — David Hackworth

Writing with you is the only thing that keeps me alive. — David Hackworth

Their plan is to return the entire world - not just the Middle East - to the days of the caliphate and either convert all of us so-called infidels into born-again Islamic believers or kill us. — David Hackworth

Modern American war is as easy to script as a B movie. — David Hackworth

In order to drill into young men the need to stay alert and stay alive, I used to punish offenders with my fists, boots and rifle butt, and with stockade time. — David Hackworth