"What Would Tzu Do?"
I don’t profess to be a Foreign Policy expert, but well, let’s face it, has that ever stopped me before?
Like many Americans, I listened to President Obama’s speech on the War in Afghanistan with great anticipation. And, just as I found myself doing during the end of the Bush Administration, I wondered what is the answer for a War that seems to have no end in sight, or at least no clear Victory in sight.
In my search for answers, I often find myself thumbing through Sun Tzu’s famous tome, “The Art of War,” and often wonder why the most powerful force in the World doesn’t take more pages from this time-tested playbook. As I said, I’m certainly no Military planner, but I am one concerned American citizen who is tired of simply complaining. Therefore, I feel it is my civic duty to at least pose the question to our leaders, “What Would Tzu Do?” Below, a few ideas:
AVOID BUNKING DOWN IN ENEMY TERRITORY
Sun Tzu says: “The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided.”
I say: I fully realize this could not be avoided. That is, Initially. We had no choice but to go into the inner cities of Iraq and Afghanistan in order to topple corrupt warlords, to break up the Taliban, and to attempt to capture Al Qaeda. However, 7 years later, I question why we are still trolling around their walled cities without advancing the ball down the field more quickly, with the intent to extract ourselves out of the hostile territory. I mean, we act as if we’re out for a Sunday drive in downtown Kabul, for godssakes! My suggestion would be to pull the Troops off of the ground, and ignite a shock to the system by conducting more pinpointed Air strikes. That’s right, pull our Soldiers out of there and let the Drones go to work on the targets we know must be taken out. This reduces the risk to our Men, and places us back in a position of having the birds-eye view of the targets we need to take out. We are currently accomplishing nothing by being mired down in the downtown areas of cities who don’t want us there, all the while forcing our Soldiers to become sitting ducks for IEDs and sniper fire. Simply unacceptable.
AVOID PROTRACTED BATTLES IN TORA BORA AND OTHER CAVERNOUS REGIONS
Sun Tzu says: “The general who is skilled in defence hides in the most secret recesses of the earth.”
I say: Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda have taken this page straight out of The Art of War playbook! By hiding in an elaborate sequence of caves, they are hiding in the most secret recesses of the earth.
Sun Tzu says: “Take high terrain” and “…occupy their raised…spots, and there wait for him to come up.”
I say: We have sadly allowed the enemy to take – and maintain – the high terrain. Initially, I’m sure we had no choice, as we chased after Al Qaeda, they retreated into the far recesses of the earth. However, we should have at some point in the last 7 years utilized the superior warfare of the United States to literally blast them out of their hiding places therefore allowing us to commandeer the higher ground. This is basic warfare kind of stuff, right? We used to play “king of the mountain” in the front yard as kids, right? It’s the same concept. This is not rocket science. Missile and hand grenade science, sure, but not rocket science.
AVOID A PROLONGED WAR
Sun Tzu says: “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.”
“In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.”
I say: It is my view that the Bush Administration made errors by running a war that was too “politically correct.” This set us up for a prolonged war from day one. What I mean by that is we opted not to go the route of the standard definition of war, i.e., blowing things up, declaring victory, then leaving…Therefore, we sent all manner of signals that we would be there for the long haul. Why did we do this? This was not necessary. This was a mistake. We should have instead telegraphed to our enemies that we were going to run a War, pure and simple, that it would be swift and harsh, and that there would be no Taliban or Al Qaeda left standing at the end of the battle. We should have made them fear for their lives. Not prepared them to settle in for a long winter’s nap. And a chess game which has lasted 7 long years.
Sun Tzu says: “When your weapons are dulled, your ardour damped, your strength exhausted, and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity.”
I say: No doubt about it, our enemy has taken full advantage of the protracted war. We must do something now – and something drastic – in order to change the outcome of this war. (see my suggestions above) Again, I don’t mean to oversimplify War plans, but for the purpose of this blog, I am hitting the highpoints.
AVOID THE HIGH COST OF A PROLONGED WAR
Sun Tzu says: “If the campaign is protracted, the resources of the state will not be equal to the strain.”
“Poverty of the state exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance…and causes the people to be impoverished.”
I say: It is widely reported now that we are borrowing money from China to help finance the Wars abroad. Most folks know this, so I won’t beat this horse to a pulp.
AVOID TELEGRAPHING THE BEGINNING…AND THE END
Sun Tzu says: “…if the enemy is prepared for your coming and you fail to defeat him,…disaster will ensue.”
I say: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and the Bush Administration telegraphed far too much information leading up our invasions (for example, it was a tactical error to publicly announce that “shock and awe” was coming a full 72 hours before it arrived, thereby giving “the bad guys” plenty of time to flee). Now, I am concerned that President Obama has telegraphed too much, promising a timetable of 18 months for our departure. Sun Tzu knew that “the element of surprise” was everything in battle. Couldn’t we take a note or two from his experience?
CONCLUSION
Is the solution to the War on Terror this simple? Of course not. But, I do find it strange that I can open a simple book, yet it seems our Military leaders appear to be oblivious to even the most basic tenants of time-tested Art of War. Are they so mired in the details, the politics, or "the fog of war" that we can't see the simple facts right in front of our very eyes? Perhaps if they picked up a copy and got back to basics, we’d be one small step closer to closing to victory, one step closer to closing this chapter in our Nation’s history…and one step closer to bringing our Troops home. Nothing else has worked... it's worth a shot, isn't it?
Like many Americans, I listened to President Obama’s speech on the War in Afghanistan with great anticipation. And, just as I found myself doing during the end of the Bush Administration, I wondered what is the answer for a War that seems to have no end in sight, or at least no clear Victory in sight.
In my search for answers, I often find myself thumbing through Sun Tzu’s famous tome, “The Art of War,” and often wonder why the most powerful force in the World doesn’t take more pages from this time-tested playbook. As I said, I’m certainly no Military planner, but I am one concerned American citizen who is tired of simply complaining. Therefore, I feel it is my civic duty to at least pose the question to our leaders, “What Would Tzu Do?” Below, a few ideas:
AVOID BUNKING DOWN IN ENEMY TERRITORY
Sun Tzu says: “The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided.”
I say: I fully realize this could not be avoided. That is, Initially. We had no choice but to go into the inner cities of Iraq and Afghanistan in order to topple corrupt warlords, to break up the Taliban, and to attempt to capture Al Qaeda. However, 7 years later, I question why we are still trolling around their walled cities without advancing the ball down the field more quickly, with the intent to extract ourselves out of the hostile territory. I mean, we act as if we’re out for a Sunday drive in downtown Kabul, for godssakes! My suggestion would be to pull the Troops off of the ground, and ignite a shock to the system by conducting more pinpointed Air strikes. That’s right, pull our Soldiers out of there and let the Drones go to work on the targets we know must be taken out. This reduces the risk to our Men, and places us back in a position of having the birds-eye view of the targets we need to take out. We are currently accomplishing nothing by being mired down in the downtown areas of cities who don’t want us there, all the while forcing our Soldiers to become sitting ducks for IEDs and sniper fire. Simply unacceptable.
AVOID PROTRACTED BATTLES IN TORA BORA AND OTHER CAVERNOUS REGIONS
Sun Tzu says: “The general who is skilled in defence hides in the most secret recesses of the earth.”
I say: Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda have taken this page straight out of The Art of War playbook! By hiding in an elaborate sequence of caves, they are hiding in the most secret recesses of the earth.
Sun Tzu says: “Take high terrain” and “…occupy their raised…spots, and there wait for him to come up.”
I say: We have sadly allowed the enemy to take – and maintain – the high terrain. Initially, I’m sure we had no choice, as we chased after Al Qaeda, they retreated into the far recesses of the earth. However, we should have at some point in the last 7 years utilized the superior warfare of the United States to literally blast them out of their hiding places therefore allowing us to commandeer the higher ground. This is basic warfare kind of stuff, right? We used to play “king of the mountain” in the front yard as kids, right? It’s the same concept. This is not rocket science. Missile and hand grenade science, sure, but not rocket science.
AVOID A PROLONGED WAR
Sun Tzu says: “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.”
“In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.”
I say: It is my view that the Bush Administration made errors by running a war that was too “politically correct.” This set us up for a prolonged war from day one. What I mean by that is we opted not to go the route of the standard definition of war, i.e., blowing things up, declaring victory, then leaving…Therefore, we sent all manner of signals that we would be there for the long haul. Why did we do this? This was not necessary. This was a mistake. We should have instead telegraphed to our enemies that we were going to run a War, pure and simple, that it would be swift and harsh, and that there would be no Taliban or Al Qaeda left standing at the end of the battle. We should have made them fear for their lives. Not prepared them to settle in for a long winter’s nap. And a chess game which has lasted 7 long years.
Sun Tzu says: “When your weapons are dulled, your ardour damped, your strength exhausted, and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity.”
I say: No doubt about it, our enemy has taken full advantage of the protracted war. We must do something now – and something drastic – in order to change the outcome of this war. (see my suggestions above) Again, I don’t mean to oversimplify War plans, but for the purpose of this blog, I am hitting the highpoints.
AVOID THE HIGH COST OF A PROLONGED WAR
Sun Tzu says: “If the campaign is protracted, the resources of the state will not be equal to the strain.”
“Poverty of the state exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance…and causes the people to be impoverished.”
I say: It is widely reported now that we are borrowing money from China to help finance the Wars abroad. Most folks know this, so I won’t beat this horse to a pulp.
AVOID TELEGRAPHING THE BEGINNING…AND THE END
Sun Tzu says: “…if the enemy is prepared for your coming and you fail to defeat him,…disaster will ensue.”
I say: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and the Bush Administration telegraphed far too much information leading up our invasions (for example, it was a tactical error to publicly announce that “shock and awe” was coming a full 72 hours before it arrived, thereby giving “the bad guys” plenty of time to flee). Now, I am concerned that President Obama has telegraphed too much, promising a timetable of 18 months for our departure. Sun Tzu knew that “the element of surprise” was everything in battle. Couldn’t we take a note or two from his experience?
CONCLUSION
Is the solution to the War on Terror this simple? Of course not. But, I do find it strange that I can open a simple book, yet it seems our Military leaders appear to be oblivious to even the most basic tenants of time-tested Art of War. Are they so mired in the details, the politics, or "the fog of war" that we can't see the simple facts right in front of our very eyes? Perhaps if they picked up a copy and got back to basics, we’d be one small step closer to closing to victory, one step closer to closing this chapter in our Nation’s history…and one step closer to bringing our Troops home. Nothing else has worked... it's worth a shot, isn't it?
An excellent History Channel documentary on Sun Tzu, with analysis of the Civil War, WWII, & Vietnam can be found here:
http://bobmartin.posterous.com/sun-tzus-the-art-of-war
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