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,…

— H. R. McMaster

We confuse activity with progress, and that's always dangerous, especially in war.

— 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.…

— H. R. McMaster

We often operate effectively on the physical battleground but not on the psychological battleground. We fail to communicate our resolve.

— 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…

— 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…

— H. R. McMaster

Bombing, particularly from the perspective of the receiving end, is not 'communication.' Bombs result in death and destruction.

— 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…

— 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…

— H. R. McMaster

Muslims who commit terrorist acts are perverting their religion.

— 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…

— 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…

— H. R. McMaster

Offensive operations and hunting down the enemy is an integral part of any counterinsurgency approach.

— H. R. McMaster

Be skeptical of concepts that divorce war from its political nature, particularly those that promise fast, cheap victory through technology.

— 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…

— H. R. McMaster

It is important to understand how leaders have adapted and thought about war and warfare across their careers. 'The Autobiography of General…

— H. R. McMaster

It is in their inherent moral components that recent Western strategies may be deficient. What percentage of the populations in countries engaged…

— H. R. McMaster

Some people have a misunderstanding about the Army. Some people think, 'Hey, you're in the military, and everything is super-hierarchical, and you're…

— H. R. McMaster

The important thing to remember is war does not progress linearly. The future course of events is going to be very difficult…

— H. R. McMaster

My personal experience in Ninawa Province has been that, at the most fundamental level, people don't really care if it's a Shiite,…

— H. R. McMaster

You have to keep listening and thinking and being critical and self-critical. Remember General Nivelle, in the First World War, at Verdun?…

— H. R. McMaster

Meetings between Presidents, as you know, are supposed to be privileged. They're supposed to be confidential. They're supposed to allow the president…

— H. R. McMaster

What we have found is that we were the principal mediators in many cases between the Iraqis and their own security forces…

— H. R. McMaster

We're trying to find areas of cooperation with Russia in the area of counterterrorism and the campaign against ISIS.

— H. R. McMaster

After engaging in acts of war against another nation, there exists a degree of uncertainty in terms of the enemy's reactions. War…

— H. R. McMaster