The Utility of Force Quotes

“And the fact these no longer suit the reality in which we live does not stop us from rearranging reality into the frameworks we know.”
― Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World

“I had failed to realize that my enemy had a free, creative mind and was not thinking nor going to think like me.”
― Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World

“The enemy is an adversary, an opponent, not a sitting target.”
― Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World

“The old paradigm was that of interstate industrial war. The new one is the paradigm of war amongst the people – and it is the background to this book.”
― Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World

“The ends for which we fight are changing from the hard objectives that decide a political outcome to those of establishing conditions in which the outcome may be decided.”
― Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World

“Capability = Means × Way^2 × 3xWill”
― Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World

“War no longer exists.”
― Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World

“Armed conflict is a human condition, and I do not doubt we will continue to reinvent it from generation to generation.”
― Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force