The Islam of the 18th, 19th and first half of the 20th century was a poor thing. Nobody bothered about it. Islam was that funny sort of pure system of beliefs that depressed people in the Middle East held as their religion.

Of whatever class or nation, however, all successful participants in the repetitive and unrelenting stress of aerial fighting came eventually to display its characteristic physiognomy: skeletal hands, sharpened noses, tight-drawn cheek bones, the bared teeth of a rictus smile and the fixed, narrowed gaze of men in a state of controlled fear.

The great men of power who seek to change the nations they belong to usually are pretty terrible people.

A civilised man is someone who has discovered something more satisfying than combat.

I don't think that what's going on in Bosnia is political activity. It's partly political, but it's partly atavistic as well.

Soldiers, when committed to a task, can't compromise. It's unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it's been done.

There are certain wicked people in the world that you can't deal with except by force