---
title: "1 Thinking Afghanistan Quotes By H. R. McMaster"
description: "1 Thinking Afghanistan quotes by H. R. McMaster. Plus more from H. R. McMaster and more Thinking Afghanistan sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/h-r-mcmaster-16254_consequences_consequences-of-linear-thinking-in-afgha_721030.png"
---

> [Consequences of linear thinking in Afghanistan and Iraq included overestimating indigenous forces' capabilities, underestimating the enemy, and the associated expectation that the coalition could soon reduce force levels and shift to an exclusively advisory effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/consequences-of-linear-thinking-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-included/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/h-r-mcmaster-16254_consequences_consequences-of-linear-thinking-in-afgha_721030.png)

## More by H. R. McMaster

> [Much of the conventional wisdom associated with Vietnam was highly inaccurate. Far from an inevitable result of the imperative to contain communism, the war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/much-of-the-conventional-wisdom-associated-with-vietnam-was-highly/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [We confuse activity with progress, and that's always dangerous, especially in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/we-confuse-activity-with-progress-and-that-s-always-dangerous/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [What is certain about the future is that even the best efforts to predict the conditions of future war will prove erroneous. What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/what-is-certain-about-the-future-is-that-even-the-best-efforts-to/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [We often operate effectively on the physical battleground but not on the psychological battleground. We fail to communicate our resolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/we-often-operate-effectively-on-the-physical-battleground-but-not-on/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [Consequences of linear thinking in Afghanistan and Iraq included overestimating indigenous forces' capabilities, underestimating the enemy, and the associated expectation that the coalition could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/consequences-of-linear-thinking-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-included/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [The war in Vietnam was not lost in the field, nor was it lost on the front pages of the New York Times or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/the-war-in-vietnam-was-not-lost-in-the-field-nor-was-it-lost-on-the/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [Bombing, particularly from the perspective of the receiving end, is not 'communication.' Bombs result in death and destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/bombing-particularly-from-the-perspective-of-the-receiving-end-is-not/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [When we came to Iraq, we didn't understand the complexity - what it meant for a society to live under a brutal dictatorship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/when-we-came-to-iraq-we-didn-t-understand-the-complexity-what-it/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [I think any of us who have been involved in the mission of Iraq have developed a great deal of affection for the Iraqi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/i-think-any-of-us-who-have-been-involved-in-the-mission-of-iraq-have/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [Muslims who commit terrorist acts are perverting their religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/muslims-who-commit-terrorist-acts-are-perverting-their-religion/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [Because war is a competition involving life and death, and in which national security and vital interests are at stake, establishing an objective other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/because-war-is-a-competition-involving-life-and-death-and-in-which/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [What we can afford least is to define the problem of future war as we would like it to be and, by doing so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/what-we-can-afford-least-is-to-define-the-problem-of-future-war-as-we/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [Offensive operations and hunting down the enemy is an integral part of any counterinsurgency approach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/offensive-operations-and-hunting-down-the-enemy-is-an-integral-part/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [Be skeptical of concepts that divorce war from its political nature, particularly those that promise fast, cheap victory through technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/be-skeptical-of-concepts-that-divorce-war-from-its-political-nature/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

> [Although combat operations unseated the Taliban and the Saddam Hussein regime, a poor understanding of the recent histories of the Afghan and Iraqi peoples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/although-combat-operations-unseated-the-taliban-and-the-saddam/)

[H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/)

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