Go read "The Art of War", etc.
Reader comment on item: War's New Face

Submitted by Deran Eaton (United States), Apr 17, 2003 at 09:28

"Changing nature of warfare????" How do you figure, Dr. Pipes??

Have you ever read Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", which dates back over 2 1/2 millenia? Napoleon Bonaparte was likely the first Western leader to read it; today it's required reading at U.S. military academies.

As a usually serious student of Middle Eastern history, please remember all the way back to the founding of Babylon (a.k.a. "Babel"). The best reference here is the Bible, which also has good counsel on waging war effectively -- often better than Sun Tzu's. Habitual violence among Middle Eastern leaders is nothing new. Even Saddam Hussein fancied himself as as a modern-day Nebuchadnezzar.

The bottom line is two fold:
1. The nature of warfare has not changed at all, only the contestants and the technology.
2. The so-called "West"/"non-West" contestants are motivated by different spirits that determine their domestic, tactical and strategic dispositions.

Also, one correction: The U.S. is NOT -- and never was -- a democracy!! Go read Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution....which begins:

"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government..."
Sincerely,

DSE

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