It is simply not true that war is solely a means to an end, nor do people necessarily fight in order to obtain this objective or that. In fact, the opposite is true: people very often take up one objective or another precisely in order that they may fight.
Martin Van CreveldThe combination of professionalism and technology may also result in narrow-minded specialization more suited to a debating society than to an organization whose task it is to cope with, and indeed live in, the dangerous and uncertain environment of war.
Martin Van CreveldSun Tzu does not need my praise. His work has lived for over two thousand years, and will surely live for another two thousand without any help from me.
Martin Van CreveldExcept when war is waged in a desert, noncombatants, also known as civilians or "the people," constitute the great majority of those affected.
Martin Van Creveld