"Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst."

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Original Language: English

Sources

Ch. 1, Section 3, ¶1

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz