What defines a great military statesman?

Not so much how many battles he won or how many casualties his enemy suffered or how many men he led rather his capacity for delegation and the parameters and modalities of ,in particular,those whose lives he regarded as sacrosanct and those whose lives he saved...lines in the sand, therefore,and strict instructions,repeated tirelessly and endlessly, until thick-witted soldiers all got the message and speedy and severe punishment for army transgressors..

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16.9.2023

I am no great military statesman but at least I had the sense to know that the activities of the armed group which I was associated with were becoming counterproductive and playing into its opponents hands by creating a new echelon of victims.

In August 1988 by a mixture of stubbornness and fanaticism,I persuaded the Belfast and Derry unemployed militants to direct their anger and frustration at so-called commercial targets and tostop internecine warfare. I succeeded to a large extent.