The Useless Tree

Sun Tzu

  • Sun Tzu is not a Taoist

    I keep an eye out for American popular cultural references to ancient Chinese philosophy.  So, imagine my surprise when I chanced upon this story from ESPN: "Amare Stoudemire, Taoist?" It seems that the Phoenix Suns basketball player has gotten into… Continue reading

  • Sun Tzu will out

    Just saw this post by Stephen Walt: Today we learned that the U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan are now spearheading a major effort at (drum roll) … prison reform. We've figured out that the brutal treatment that even petty criminals… Continue reading

  • Davids, Goliaths and Sun Tzu

    I missed this last week but let me comment on it now. Malcolm Gladwell's piece in The New Yorker, "How David Beats Goliath," has a Sun Tzu tone to it.  He basically argues that creativity and effort can overcome material… Continue reading

  • That’s What Sun Tzu Said

    I noticed this paragraph, in a blog post by Christopher Orr at TNR (HT Sullivan): The humane treatment of surrendered captives, therefore, is a crucial–arguably the crucial–understanding between adversaries if their conflict is to end in any way other than… Continue reading

  • Sun Tzu on the American Exit from Iraq

    One of the benefits of teaching is the new ideas that are generated in conversation with students.  That happened the other day.  My class was discussing Sun Tzu and the impending US withdrawal from Iraq, focusing on a recent report… Continue reading

  • One Last Time with Gusto: Bush Lost the War!

    With the impending inauguration of Obama, a lot of revisionism about the Bush years is streaming forth from various sources.  But as far as Iraq is concerned, I'm sticking with my old friend the Aardvark, who is now blogging under… Continue reading

  • Mencius and Sun Tzu on Gaza

    It is apparent that the Israeli attack on Gaza fails on both moral and strategic grounds. The wide-scale killing of innocents and disproportionality of the Israeli violence make it an unjust war.  And, even though he did not argue in… Continue reading

  • Republican Party Maoism

    So Sarah Palin is attempting to mobilize the "pro-American" parts of the US against the rest, presumably the anti-American parts of America (think about that for a moment…). In seeking to clarify precisely what she meant by this distinction, she… Continue reading

  • Remember: Bush Lost the War

    There is a lot of talk these days about how the "surge" in Iraq has worked and that "victory" is at hand.  Rubbish.  While it is true that the "surge" was one of several elements (the others being internal Iraqi… Continue reading

  • McCain’s Pathetic Campaign Gimmick

    Here's a line (hat tip Western Confucian) from Guardian blogger Oliver Burkeman that pretty much sums up my first impression of McCain's call to suspend his campaign and postpone tomorrow's debate: this is actually the most absurd, impetuous and nakedly… Continue reading