The Art of War
Sun Tzu
well before BCE.
[excerpt]
Generals are assistance of the nation.
When their assistance is country is strong.
When their assistance is defective, the country is weak.
If the generals do not help the leadership, and harbor
duplicity in their hearts, then the country will be weak.
Therefore it is imperative to be careful in choosing people
for positions of responsibility.
So there are three ways in which a civil leadership causes the military trouble. When a civil leadership unaware of the facts tells its armies to advance when it should not, or tells its armies to retreat when it should not, this is called tying up the armies. When the civil leadership is ignorant of military maneuvers but shares equally in the command of the armies, the soldiers hesitate. Once the armies are confused and hesitant, trouble comes from competitors. This is called taking away victory by deranging the military.
If you try to use the methods of civilian government to govern a military operation, the operation will become confused.
To talk about government orders for all this is like going to announce to your superiors that you want to put out a fire--
by the time you get back with an order, there is nothing left but ashes.
So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
washingtonpost.com
Joint Chiefs Doubted Air Strategy
By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 5, 1999; Page A1
In the weeks before NATO launched its air campaign against Yugoslavia, U.S. military chiefs expressed deep reservations about the Clinton administration's approach to Kosovo and warned that bombing alone likely would not achieve its political aims, according to sources familiar with their thinking.
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