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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: unclewest who wrote (281258)	12/19/2014 10:48:32 AM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (2) of 281500

The book's very first passage is to impound upon the reader not to take on waging war lightly. Which at the very least means sober assessment of your options and actions and not doing it out of anger or revenge. Right after that opening, he discusses elements of success. Of the 5 elements mentioned, 3 are logistical or environmental and technology has somewhat changed how we can address them. The other 2 however are as true today as they were then: (1) "The Moral Law" and (4) "The Commander". Deceptively, "The Moral Law" could be interpreted as the morale. Except that Sun Tzu considers it a quality of the leader not a quality of the troops. So a more appropriate interpretation is a charismatic leader who is in tune with his people's deepest needs and is able to garner so much trust that they will jump to their death at his bidding. Do you believe we have such leadership in the US today? "The Commander" - was expected to poses the following qualities: wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and discipline. In Sun Tzu's view, war was not limited to the act of killing. Much of what we may call "statecraft" today as well as intelligence was part and parcel of it. Significantly, those who waged war paid a very high price for making the wrong call. So they were motivated to ponder their decisions. Tell me, what price does the congress pay for making the wrong call? What happens to a President who drags the country into war when other options may have been more prudent? You are wrong in thinking that war is about killing. War is about achieving ones goals. What goals are we trying to achieve and are we going about it in the most effective way? There are many books to help you understand what Sun Tzu's Art of War is all about. And I don't have the time to debate this with you. So I leave you with the following quotes and you can decide for yourself how well they apply to the current situation. “Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.” “To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill” “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. ” ? Sun Tzu, The Art of War

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