It is a socialist idea that making profits is a vice; I consider the real vice is making losses.
Winston ChurchillRead
It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed...I feel the need for more precise concentration upon military objectives, such as oil and communications behind the immediate battle-zone, rather than on mere acts of terror and wanton destruction, however impressive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Churchill advocates for focused military objectives rather than indiscriminate bombing to instill fear.
In this quote, Winston Churchill reflects on the ethics and effectiveness of wartime strategies, suggesting that bombing German cities for terror's sake is not a satisfactory approach. He emphasizes the importance of targeting specific military objectives that could weaken the enemy's capacity to fight, rather than resorting to random acts of destruction that serve only to instill fear, thus calling for a more strategic and principled approach to warfare.
Themes
WarStrategyEthicsMilitaryTerror
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the ethics of warfare, this quote could be presented to highlight the importance of strategic bombing.
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