You people are reading too much into it. It's correct though that we should have won in Iraq and Afghanistan already, but haven't because of whiny little hippies trying to be our conscience. Heinlein wrote the book this quote came from BEFORE Vietnam, BEFORE the Gulf. BEFORE 9/11 and all current events. The man died before the Gulf War even took place. As for the fellow arguing that you can't use more force against Guerrillas... Protip: We did. It's called Carpet bombing and Napalm jackass. Guerrilla tunnels and caves aren't very effective shelter if you bomb them into collapsing and burn the surface off so even if the enemy escapes bombardment and collapse, they have to face flame. Likewise, North Vietnamese cities couldn't have produced much War Material if only we'd bombed them even harder than we did during Operation Linebacker. Really all it comes down to is this: Fight to win. No morals. Use Excessive Force. If Civilians are in the way, it's their problem for not leaving. If they give even a tiny bit of bread to an enemy, they're just as guilty as the people you're fighting. No regrets. No Mercy. Your side comes first. Let whatever deity your foes believe in sort them out when you're done.