“That is why any general, however wrong he may be--take Napoleon, to avoid the politics of mere contemporary examples--must believe in himself to be successful, or dupe himself into such a belief. Indeed, that is the main job of all politicians who, through their own inefficiency, muddle nations into war. If they do not fool themselves into the assumption that they are God-fearing idealists, they will never get the millions who must pay for their damage to believe the same thing, and they will lose the war.”
Book:Mystery in White