“War may be an auction for countries. For soldiers it's a lottery.”

“War's an auction where whoever can pay the most in damage and still be standing wins.”

“War's never a picnic. Although obviously soldiers do end up eating outdoors quite a lot.”

“If war's first victim is truth, its second is clerical efficiency.”

“Oh, diplomacy," said M.D., in his element, "it mops up war's spillages; legitimizes its outcomes; gives the strong state the means to impose its will on a weaker one, while saving its fleets and battalions for weightier opponents.”

“Have you noticed," said John, "how countries call theirs 'sovereign nuclear deterrents,' but call the other countries' ones 'weapons of mass destruction'?”

“Wars do not combust without warning. They begin as little fires over the horizon. Wars approach. A wise man watches for the smoke, and prepares to vacate the neighborhood just like Ayrs and Jocasta. My worry is that the next war will be so big, nowhere with a decent restaurant will be left untouched.”