“The Statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforseeable and uncontrollable events.”

I’ve been playing the game Call of Duty 3 on a Playstation 3 recently. It’s a really enjoyable first person shooter, that seems to take much of its style from the Band of Brothers miniseries. One interesting feature is that every time you die, a quote about war is displayed from various important historical figures. As I was playing through the last bit of the game last night, I saw one that seemed particularly relevant today. It was a quote from Winston Churchill, written in his 1930 “My Early Life” describing the prelude to the Boer War. The quote above is what was shown in the game. This is the full quote in context:

“Let us learn our lessons. Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on that strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The Statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforseeable and uncontrollable events. Antiquated War Offices, weak, incompetent or arrogant commanders, untrustworthy allies, hostile neutrals, malignant Fortune, ugly surprises, awful miscalculations – all take their seat at the Council Board on the morrow of a declaration of war. Always remember, however sure you are that you can easily win, that there would not be a war if the other man did not think that he also had a chance”

I can’t help but think about the current Iraq war when I read these lines. It is truly a shame that our leaders, not just Bush and Cheney, but the whole of Congress as well, didn’t pay more attention to history.