[Nachum]

Patton might have disagreed.

[Jagman]

Tell that to Alexander the Great!

[rbg81]

Why not? Its not PC to say so, but the only way to win is to make your enemy realize he has lost.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

That is about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard coming from a general in the US armed fores.

“I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country. “

[Max_850]

Sounds like a great plan if your intention is not to decisively win the war.

[OneWingedShark]

>Petraeus: Can’t kill your way out of war

Um, yes you can. For example: if you kill EVERYONE who is a member of the nation you are at war with, that nation ceases to exist... Haven’t you ever played Civilization (I, II, III, or IV)?

[Hurricane]

Luv you general but its called Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I remember them, It worked. Don’t let bama get to you. Evil has gone on for thousands of years and the only way to get rid of it is to kill it off. Too bad it keeps coming back, but if not stopped it just gets worse.

[Tzfat]

Petraeus: Can't kill your way out of war

Easily one of the stupidest things ever uttered by someone with the rank of General... by an nation, at any point in history. Sheesh, what a rube.

[GonzoGOP]

Tell that to Sherman and Sheridan. First the Confederacy, then the Indians. Sure they won’t think highly of you and your name will be cursed for all time. But you will end the war.

[PapaBear3625]

The Roman treatment of Carthage disproves that.

Although, he might just have been thinking of the "body count" obsession of the US brass during Vietnam. Yes, we killed a bunch of Viet Cong and NVA, just not enough to present the enemy with unacceptable losses. In the process, some military members learned the wrong lesson.

Machiavelli said "Do not do your enemy a small injury", in the sense of hitting him hard enough to piss him off, but not hard enough to eliminate his ability to retaliate.

[arthurus]

This is the general that some conservatives were boosting for President a short time ago.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

That little tidbit of information would come as a surprise to the combatants of wars since time immemorial. Indeed the killing of the enemy until he loses the will or the ability to continue to fight is the essence of warfare.

Petraeus should stop pandering to the leftists and the weak sisters, unless he truly believes this foolishness, in which case he should resign immediately.

[cripplecreek]

Worked pretty good in Europe and Japan.

[Juan Medén]

I can see it now . . . Obama's Love Army. We no longer shoot or maim. We will kill you with kindness! More tea, Achmed? Need a new diaper wrap, Osama? Comb out that beard for you, Ali? How about a camel wash, Mohamed? Instead of fatigues, Obama's Love Army will wear 60's hippie attire -- tie-dyed t-shirts, headbands, long sideburns and lots of chest hair. Yes, baby, we are Obama's Love Army! Hope and change, baby!

[Falcon28]

So much for Petraeus 2012

[mad_as_he$$]

General with all due respect I could kill my way out of this war and not even risk one American life. All’s that is needed is the will to do it. Oh and BTW the heroin problem would be resolved for about 10,000 years.

[plain talk]

The only way out of war once you are in it is to “kill your way out”. So what happened to Petraus? This was a heck of a stupid statement.

[clintonh8r]

Absence of enemy = peace.

[Outlaw Woman]

The point of War itself is to kill people and break things. This is an extremely disturbing statement by this general. When did he have a change of heart or brain (lobotomy maybe?)

[Carl Vehse]

Numerous reports on Petraeus' speech are on the internet but what is missing from every story I've seen are the quotation marks around the phrase - Can't kill your way out of war.

If it's not in quotation marks, did Petraeus say it or is it an interpretation by some reporter of what he said?

If Petraeus really said it, then where are the quotation marks?