It’s been a while since I read the The Art of War. But what I best recall is the tactic of never fully constraining one’s enemy; so to avoid his greatest effort for survival.
Our “leaders” are idiots.
If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding.The current civilian leadership has purged generals and admirals who think and plan according to this admonition; IOW, generals and admirals who put the country first and not the political leadership.
X:23
It’s like: Ender’s game. The buggers gave us no choice. So we genocided them. Or Independence Day: We had no where to go, we were screwed, so we genocided them.