No evil is greater than commands of the sovereign from the court. . . .

He whose generals are able and not interfered with by the sovereign will be victorious. . . .

There are occasions when the commands of the sovereign need not be obeyed. . . .

If the situation is one of victory but the sovereign has issued orders not to engage, the general may decide to fight. If the situation is such that he cannot win, but the sovereign has issued orders to engage, he need not do so.

Sun Tzu, The Art of War
China, 500 B.C.

If them dumb mutherfuckin’ politician pukeheads would just let us alone and let us do our jobs, we’d be outta here and back to the World in no time at all. Shit! No arty, no fixed wing, no direct support from those dumbshit, poor-ass tank crews; just our damned M-16s and grenades and they want us to root out a regiment of entrenched NVA in a day or two. Well, let them dumb asshole politicians come over here and follow me around for a minute or two, and see what kind of bullshit happens when dumbshit mutherfuckin’ politicians start calling the shots on the ground. Jesus H. Christ, why can’t they stick to kissing asses and babies?

Obscene mumbling from pinned-down Marines
overheard amid street fighting, Hue, 1968