The Useless Tree

Sun Tzu and “The War”

     As I mentioned previously, I watched most of the PBS documentary series, "The War," which presented the US experience in WWII.  One of the things that stuck me about that experience was the tenacity of the American soldiers.  Time and time again, they were placed in extraordinarily dangerous and difficult circumstances.  Casualties and deaths were, in some battles, horribly great in number.  But they fought; they rarely backed down; they died but continually pushed forward.

     It is common to hear that soldiers in such conditions find their valor in fighting for one another.  The big causes and goals that might surround a war evaporate in the heat of battle, and a man fights to survive, and to help the man next to him survive.  War, ultimately, is personal; it is about immediate relationships – a small group of buddies – and the desperate struggle to preserve those bonds.  Sun Tzu understood this:

Throw troops into a position from which there is no escape and even when faced with death they will not flee.  For if prepared to die, what can they not achieve?  Then officers and men together put forth their utmost efforts.  In a desperate situation, they fear nothing; when there is no way out they stand firm.  Deep in hostile land they are bound together, and there, where there is no alternative, they will engage the enemy in hand to hand combat. (11.33)

     Sounds like Peleliu or Okinawa. 

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Sam Crane
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8 responses to “Sun Tzu and “The War””

  1. Casey Kochmer Avatar
    Casey Kochmer

    I remember that war with the lives of so many of my friends who fought in it.
    I remember the Americans, they were crazy. My German friends painted and retold stories about how crazy the Americans were when they fought.
    That war changed so much, including us…

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  2. justsomeguy Avatar
    justsomeguy

    That’s why Bush is so opposed to any sort of withdrawal, right? Gotta put our boys up against a wall, or perhaps the Iraqi soldiers up against a wall. I lose track of which metaphor and example the republicans are using at the moment . . .

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  3. Sam Avatar
    Sam

    If Bush had any inkling Sun Tzu, he might recognize the two great failures of the Iraq war. First, the leadership that pressed the US into war did not have or cultivate the Tao. This is illustrated most directly by the reliance on misinformation, disinformation and straightforward lies in the run-up to the invasion. If a war is in keeping with Tao, then lies are not necessary. Second, Bush and company have fundamentally failed to “know the enemy.” They denied the insurgency for a long time and now they deny the political context of the war.

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  4. justsomeguy Avatar
    justsomeguy

    Whatever do you mean, are you trying to say that Mr. “Fool Me Once, Shame on – Shame on You. Fool Me Twice. Fool Me – Won’t Get Fooled Again” is incapable of admitting error? And that a man that openly admits he doesn’t read the newspaper is ignorant of other cultures? Well, color me shocked.

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  5. Casey Kochmer Avatar
    Casey Kochmer

    sigh
    You are assuming the war is a failure because you look at it from your view point.
    From our viewpoint it’s a failure. From my viewpoint it is a travesty of justice and humanity.
    However, if you look deeper into the reason for the war (explore the theory called peak oil) I suspect you will find Bush, his controllers and his closest supporters all believe the war is and continues to be a success.
    Use the Yin and Yang concept here. There is both failure and success in this endeavor… and just because it doesn’t measure to our yin of what success should be , By Bushes Yang it does.
    The funny thing is in Bush and his controller’s definition of their success… will also be their downfall. It does all come around in the the circle of human activities.
    Peace

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  6. Sam Avatar
    Sam

    Casey,
    I take your point. However, I think that the war has failed on Bush’s own terms. I have long believed that the underlying purpose of the war (after all the other lying was done) was to demonstrate the efficacy of American military power; to show the world that the US was in a position of “primacy” (that’s the word that was used at the time) and that Bush and company were willing to use that power for whatever ends they wanted. But now, the aftermath of the war has raised fundamental question precisely about the efficacy of American power. It seems that the US cannot achieve what it says it intends to achieve. That strikes me as a failure on Bush’s own terms….

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  7. Casey Kochmer Avatar
    Casey Kochmer

    I would be very careful what you assume Bushes terms really are:
    He isn’t what he seems, nor are his goals matched to what publicly gets stated.
    Yes he plays the fool, and in doing so he makes everyone the fool to follow him thusly.
    Your response still implies you are applying what you feel are his goals… That is you are applying the Neo-Con filter of A Powerful America and projection of strength. Yes in that the war failed… But again.. that was never the reason of the war. If it’s one thing Mr Bush has been good at is shifting perception of what he is doing to appear to be something else. And by playing power bases such as conservative christians or the neo-cons about. Many many levels are being spun about the whole war. You are still just dipping at the surface of his game still. In many ways perhaps Mr Bush and his followers have applied the art of war to a level you never even guessed??
    Who ever said Mr. Bush was for the United States?? You make that assumption just because he is the president… But have his actions ever shown him to TRULY support America??
    What if his Goal was to weaken America?
    What if his goal was to strengthen corporate power?
    What if his goal were to achieve a stronger fascist power state?
    What if his goal were to weaken other countries
    What if his goal was to stir thing up, instill terror and fear?
    What if his goal was to undermine the constitution?
    Hmmm seems like he is succeeding far more wildly than anyone could guess is possible.
    See what I mean you cant assume what his goal is… since if it’s any of the ones I just listed… the war has succeeded brilliantly.
    Turn off the news commentary, turn off the mind.. just watch his actions… watch the results… and a fuller picture appears…
    Bush and the inner circle that supports him are playing games at a much deeper level than most people suspect. In that it’s the public who have became the fools in buying into the game of playing the fool he started.
    I could say more, but as the song says: I have said enough…
    peace and fortune in your explorations Sam.
    me

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  8. Leinad Avatar
    Leinad

    Those tactics sound more like the Soviets and Nazis, who often had an overt policy of putting their troops in absolutely impossible situations, than anything the Allies did.

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