--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the militay dont start wars, politicians…" description: "\"“the militay dont start wars, politicians start wars”\" — William Westmoreland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/william-westmoreland-18684_peace_the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians_198961.jpg" --- # the militay dont start wars, politicians start wars ![“the militay dont start wars, politicians start wars” quote by William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/william-westmoreland-18684_peace_the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians_198961.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/william-westmoreland-18684_peace_the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians_198961.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/william-westmoreland-18684_peace_the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians_198961.jpg) > ““the militay dont start wars, politicians start wars”” [William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War is typically initiated by political leaders, not by the military, highlighting the political nature of conflict. **In simple terms:** Politicians start wars, not soldiers. Key Takeaway Hold leaders accountable for war decisions. Themes war politics military leadership responsibility Mood thought‑provoking historical Type political ethical When to use this quote - policy debates - military planning - public discourse - historical analysis Key Concepts political power ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - Who decides when war is justified? - What safeguards can prevent unnecessary wars? A Different Perspective Military may be compelled to follow political orders. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Start wars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-wars/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wars/) ## Related quotes > [The military don't start wars. Politicians start wars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/the-military-don-t-start-wars-politicians-start-wars/) [William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/) > [“We fight the wars. Politicians start them.” Chotek nodded, and sighed heavily. “And diplomats end wars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-alanson/we-fight-the-wars-politicians-start-them-chotek-nodded-and-sighed/) [Craig Alanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-alanson/) > [“One thing we’ve learned is that when people, especially politicians, start making decisions based on a reading of their moral compass, facts tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/one-thing-we-ve-learned-is-that-when-people-especially-politicians/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“How goddamn foolish it is, the war. They's no war in the worth that's worth fightin' for. I don't care where it is. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/how-goddamn-foolish-it-is-the-war-they-s-no-war-in-the-worth-that-s/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I don't believe that the big men, the politicians and the capitalists alone are guilty of the war. Oh, no, the little man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-don-t-believe-that-the-big-men-the-politicians-and-the-capitalists/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [People don't start wars, governments do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-don-t-start-wars-governments-do/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“Some people say they don’t believe in God, but they believe in an energy that moves through all living things. 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He wanted the North Vietnamese to leave their brothers in the South alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/president-johnson-did-not-want-the-vietnam-war-to-broaden-he-wanted/) [William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/) > [Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/without-censorship-things-can-get-terribly-confused-in-the-public-mind/) [William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/) > [Militarily, we succeeded in Vietnam. We won every engagement we were involved in out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/militarily-we-succeeded-in-vietnam-we-won-every-engagement-we-were/) [William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/) > [I have no apologies, no regrets. I gave my very best efforts… I've been hung in effigy. I've been spat upon. 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It is not about one thing in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-is-like-a-fire-one-man-may-start-it-but-it-will-spread-all-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,655 Peace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the militay dont start wars, politicians start wars”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Westmoreland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians-start-wars/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Peace" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians-start-wars/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/william-westmoreland-18684_peace_the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians_198961.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/william-westmoreland-18684_peace_the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians_198961.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/william-westmoreland-18684_peace_the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians_198961.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the militay dont start wars, politicians start wars” — William Westmoreland", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Westmoreland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the militay dont start wars, politicians...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians-start-wars/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/the-militay-dont-start-wars-politicians-start-wars/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```