“the prerequisite to victory is ‘to make proper preparations in the enemy’s camp so that the result is decided beforehand.’ Thus the former Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army” continued “in a remarkable paraphrase of Sun Tzu: ‘the victorious army attacks a demoralized and defeated enemy.’”
“the skillful strategist should be able to subdue the enemy’s army without engaging it, to take his cities without laying siege to them, and to overthrow his State without bloodying swords.”
“In Sun Tzu’s view, the army was the instrument which delivered the coup de grâce to an enemy previously made vulnerable. Prior to hostilities, secret agents separated the enemy’s allies from him and conducted a variety of clandestine activities against him. Among their missions were to spread false rumors and misleading information, to corrupt and subvert officials, to create and exacerbate internal discord, and to nurture Fifth Columns. Meanwhile spies at all levels ascertained the enemy at all levels. On their reports, ‘victorious’ plans were based.”
“He did not conceive war in terms of slaughter and destruction; to take all intact, or as nearly intact as possible, was the proper objective of strategy.”
Good ol Sunny,
Knocking on the door.