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. ”

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. ”

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

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

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. ”

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. ”

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

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

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. ”

Modern American war is as easy to script as a B movie. ”