I wondered what the ancient master would have to say to this Republican administration on their preparation and conduct of the war. I will use his
own translated words. You draw your own conclusions.
The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is the subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
On preparations for war
Now the general (our commander in chief) who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who islikely to win or lose.
On the cost of a long war
...if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the recources of the State will not be equal to the strain.
On the political ramifications of a long war
...when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftans will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.
On the rush to war
Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been associated with long delays.
On national service
It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that he can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.
On more troops
The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply wagons loaded more than twice.
On leadership
Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.
On knowing your enemy and disbanding the Iraqi Army
In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not good. Hence to fightand conquer in all battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces... the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.
While Bagdad is not a walled city many aspects of the battle take the form of a seige. It has focused our army in a single place and is sucking recources into it's vortex of violence.
The president does not know himself or the world he inhabits
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.