The Art of War on Terror: Sun Tzu's The Art of War for Countering Terrorism by Sun Tzu & Gary Gagliardi

Author:Sun Tzu & Gary Gagliardi
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Chinese, eastern, philosophy, positioning, strategy, islamic terrorism, military, war on terror, terrorism
Publisher: Clearbridge Publishing
Published: 2012-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Armed March

Campaigning against Terror

The campaign against terror is both a physical war and a psychological war. This long chapter discusses four different types of environments and how we utilize them in our war against terrorists. These environments are physical for the soldiers in the field, social within Middle Eastern society, and psychological in the larger media war.

This chapter is both a prescription for and a prediction about how the fight will progress in our battle against terrorism. We must deal with divisions within the Muslim world, channel the pressures for change, and weather the uncertainties inherent in this task. We can win the war against terror if we leverage the asymmetric nature of the battlefield that dramatically favors some positions over others.

We must meet terrorist forces on the ground, undermine their organizations within Muslim society, and destroy their image in the media war. To accomplish these three tasks successfully, we must foresee the shape that the battle will take over time. Sun Tzu offers a detailed preview of the various changes that terrorist organizations will go through as they find it more and more difficult to operate and rebuild.

The chapter ends by discussing the difficulties encountered in developing new democratic societies. The two political traditions of the Muslim world—national socialism and Islamic fundamentalism—have poorly equipped the people in the region with the skills required to build democracy. We must make it easy for them to master those skills.

1

All competitive arenas have different forms and these forms dictate how you must adapt to them. Situations fall into four general categories.

Sun Tzu said:

Anyone moving an army must adjust to the enemy.

When caught in the mountains, rely on their valleys.

Position yourself on the heights facing the sun.

To win your battles, never attack uphill.

This is how you position your army in the mountains.

The warrior against terror hears:

To make progress against terror, we must keep pressuring the terrorists. When we meet them in environments such as Middle Eastern society or the mainstream media, which are very unequal, America must take the high ground. We can't directly attack the prejudices of those environments but have to work with them.

6When water blocks you, keep far away from it.

Let the invader cross the river and wait for him.

Do not meet him in midstream.

Wait for him to get half his forces across and then take advantage of the situation.

Water represents the chaotic forces of change. When turmoil engulfs the area—if a revolution breaks out in Syria, or the battle between Israel and Palestine heats up—we must initially stay out of it. We must let the terrorists get involved in these disputes first so that we can then attack them, taking advantage of the situation.

10You need to be able to fight.

You can’t do that if you are caught in water when you meet an invader.

Position yourself upstream, facing the sun.

Never face against the current.

Always position your army upstream when near the water.

We must stay focused on our true enemies, the Islamic fascists who are at war with America. We cannot do this if we get trapped in other conflicts in an area rife with conflict.

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