Quaritch comes across through most of the movie as an Old Soldier. He's what Jake might have become if he hadn't been crippled, a straightforward fighting man who has no respect for the civilians running the show and sending him to this hellhole and the next, but focuses on leading his men and winning the fight. When he goes after Jake after Jake attacks a bulldozer, it's not the Colonel so much as "Dad's mad!" He's disappointed that Jake could go so soft. Later, when he finds out Jake is actually fighting his own people, he loses sight of everything else in his desire to punish Jake--and he makes a point of telling him exactly why he's going to kill him.

Soldiers like Quaritch often have more respect for their enemies than their own governments, especially if they've seen combat. If you haven't seen many John Wayne westerns, notice that the Duke usually thinks more highly of the Indians than a lot of white folks, particularly rich ones. In case you haven't noticed, this movie is really a Western, sort of Dances with Wolves Goes to Alpha Centauri. It even has the final showdown between the top bad-guy gunslinger and the hero.

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