Fight Against Terrorism: Sun Tzu Revisited
Abstract
Images of hijacked airliners impacting the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are forever burned in our memories. Such scenes previously were the work of Hollywood producers and filmmakers, but on September 11, 2001 the events became all too real. President Bush vowed that these acts of war perpetrated on America would not go unpunished. Thus began the war on terrorism. The character and conduct of this war will be different from any previous, as even envisioned as a tool for warfare in his time. This reality may account for why many of his principles get to the core of warfare and endure to this day. With such a huge time span between Sun Tzu and Warden, and with such striking similarities between all of their works, one has to ponder whether there are certain enduring basics to the proper conduct of any war. This paper will analyze our current war on terrorism using applicable Sun Tzu principles. It will postulate that the U.S. can be successful in the war on terrorism if it knows the enemy, attacks the mind of the commander, and uses the indirect approach. alluded to by Vice President Cheney. Mass formations of soldiers facing off on a battlefield will not play a role but this will be a war none-the-less. Approximately 2500 years ago, a Chinese General named Sun Tzu began what may have been the first written attempt at understanding the art of war and establishing basic principles concerning the conduct of war. Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" describes the important factors, for sovereign and general alike, on how best to execute a war. Many warfare strategists such as Clausewitz, Mahan, Liddell-Hart, and Warden, have written since Sun Tzu's time and even though Hart and Warden may have been the only two to read Sun Tzu's work, they all have remarkable similarity to many of Sun Tzu's principles. Sun Tzu wrote during an era when the resources of weapons and tactics were limited compared to today.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA441747
Entities
People
- Darryl L. Roberson
Organizations
- National War College