This was originally written by Erico Tavares.

What if military strategy were timeless?

Sun Tzu was a Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher, and is credited to have written “The Art of War”, a seminal treatise on managing conflict and warfare. It is uncertain when he actually lived, but some traditional historians date his lifetime to 544–496 BC.

The Art of War discusses military strategy within the wider context of public administration, politics and planning. Organized in thirteen chapters, the text outlines theories of battle, but also advocates diplomacy and cultivating relationships with other nations as essential to the health of a state. For centuries, it has been regarded as the definite reading for strategists and warriors of all types.

Sun Tzu’s work remains highly influential to this day. An internet search with his name produces over 10 million hits; in recent years there have been several best-selling translations and books applying the strategies to different fields, including negotiation, leadership and business.

So influential in fact that certain authors claim China’s leaders follow a modern adaptation of his principles as they seek to transform their country into a world superpower in the 21 century. Exactly at a time when the Western Establishment seems to be very busy brushing them aside.

Sun Tzu in Action

Sun Tzu observed, analyzed and distilled what works and what doesn’t at war, and eventually developed an approach which transcended the battlefield. He emphasized the need to have a strategy planned well in advance of any campaign based on a detailed assessment of both adversaries’ strengths and weaknesses: “If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.”

Open warfare should only be pursued as a last resort. In fact, Sun Tzu regarded winning without fighting as the pinnacle of military achievement. However, when there was no other choice, then the fighting should be as swift as possible: “There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.” That applies to the loser of course but also the victor, which is forced to expend substantial resources and in the end may not get much spoils to show for it, while becoming vulnerable himself to other attacks.

Sun Tzu also warned us against relying too much on technological superiority: “Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.” Such superiority may win battles but not necessarily the war, especially in the presence of asymmetric equalizers. And it is very costly.

His principles remain relevant to this day not only because they were organized during a time of substantial human conflict in an advanced civilization – they are also deeply rooted in natural law. Even the mighty lion chooses its prey carefully, aiming for the weakest of the bunch in the most economical way possible.

The Cost of War

Stephen Daggett, Specialist in Defense Policy and Budgets at the Congressional Research Service (considered to be the Congress’ think tank), authored a report in June 2010 outlining the cost of all the major wars the US has been involved in. His estimates, as well as a recent update on the cost of all the Post 9/11 wars by Professor Neta C. Crawford at Boston University, are presented in the following table:

Source: Congressional Research Service (June 2010), Boston University (June 2014).

(a) US$ billion, in constant 2011 dollars, except for Post 9/11 which is in current dollars.

(b) Union and Confederacy added together.

(c) Includes $1 trillion in future obligations for care of Veterans through 2054.

One important fact stands out from this table. Not only are the Post 9/11 entanglements the longest of any war the US has been involved in, they are also the most expensive – even more than World War II, when the US was fighting on two major fronts against heavily industrialized powers. Rather than achieving victory quickly as advocated by Sun Tzu, the US has been involved in very costly wars for well over a decade now.

When it comes to ensuring global security it can get lonely at the top. None of the traditional US allies have the military capabilities and even the ambition to project power at the same level. As an example, the US has 19 commissioned aircraft carriers, followed by France at #2 with only four. Russia and China only have one each.

These days US politicians generally endorse this militaristic approach to governing world affairs. This might be understandable as the geopolitical landscape has become incredibly complex and uncertain since 9/11. However, after years of waging war, conflict is now expanding as opposed to receding, particularly in the all-important Middle East where openly anti-West radical groups are conquering large territories. As such, a material US disentanglement over the foreseeable future looks increasingly less likely.

Sun Tzu had something to say about this: “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” Seen in this light, has the Post 9/11 military strategy made the US a victorious warrior?

While all of this is taking place, the US’ ideological foes can afford the luxury of sitting back and employing a more measured approach: “To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” Indeed, nothing breaks morale more than the prospect of never ending foreign wars.

Meanwhile, the debts keep piling up. The Pentagon’s continued ability to project power might become increasingly dependent not on its brave soldiers but on its creditors. Sun Tzu would agree.

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Vidrebel’s Comment: Karen Kwiatowski was a Lt Colonel in the USAF and served in the Pentagon prior to 911. For a time she shared office space with Project for a New American Century (PNAC) member Douglas Feith who was a co-author of A Clean Break: A Strategy for Defending the Realm. This position paper was written for Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel in 1996. Kwiatowski was stunned to learn that PNAC supporters cared more for a foreign nation -Israel- than they did America. A Clean Break was also co-authored by David Wurmser who worked for Dick Cheney. The principal author was Richard Perle who is a member of the Bilderberg Steering Committee.

The Bilderberg Society was founded by Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and David Rockefeller. David Rothkopf who is a Kissinger associate, in his book Superclass said the (Western) world is ruled by 30 Families and their 6,000 Minions. A 2007 Swiss study at the Federal Institute of Technology concluded that there were 147 corporation that controlled 20% of world trade. These corporations shared Board of Director members. They included the Too Big To Jail Banks, the top insurance companies, major Oil Companies, Arms merchants, Big Pharma, Monsanto and other criminal enterprises. These 147 corporations are the New World Order. The Bilderberg Society Steering Committee is one means for the 30 Families to transmit their agenda to people in the visible ruling class who then tell us what has been decided we as democratic societies ought to do.

Richard Perle is a key Minion for the 30 Families and played an important role in modern history. A Clean Break urged 3 foreign policy objectives for Israel. It wanted regime change in Iraq because they defended the Palestinians. Bush did regime change for Israel. A Clean Break also advocated taking down Lebanon and Syria. Perle said to use proxy armies to attack Syria over the issue of chemical weapons. Obama is doing that now. He trained, armed and funded ISIS so they can take down Syria and then hopefully weaken Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Israelis falsely claim all the land from the Nile to the Euphrates. There are 300 million Gentiles living on the land Israel claims. The ‘War on Terror’ in reality nothing but Big Bad America evicting 300 million Gentiles from their homes and their lands so the Jewish people of Israel can further inflate their egos. The ‘War on Terror’ formally began when Israel used controlled demolitions to take down World Trade Center Towers 1, 2 and 7 on 9-11-2001.

When and How does this end? Russia and China are winning the war. They formed a military alliance -SCO- Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It includes amongst others Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran. They have much faster missiles and a lot more manpower than NATO. They have also formed the BRICS economic alliance which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. BRICS has formed counterparts to the IMF and the World Bank. And they are creating an international exchange system to replace the US dollar. Recently, China opened the Shanghai Gold Exchange. The US and the UK have been selling off their gold to make their currencies look good. China, Russia, India and other Asian nations have been buying it. One day soon China will hint at a Gold Backed yuan and the Dollar will crash.

The US and Europe have been in a Depression since 2007. James Rickards, the CFR member and Pentagon Financial consultant, says the American dollar is headed to an 80% devaluation which as he explained will mean a 500% price increase for imported goods. Rickards says America is facing a 25 year Depression.

Let’s interpret modern world history in light of Sun Tzu. Russia and China are poised for victory against America and NATO. The latter are headed to the worst Financial Crisis in 500 years because we have more debts than any time in history. This fate was decided for us in 1913 by the Rothschilds and their friends they gave us a debt based currency guaranteeing us a series of Depressions and Inflations. Catherine Austine Fitts said that the Bankers stole $40 trillion from us. I think the figure is much higher.

911 and the ‘War on Terror’ has enabled the ruling class to take away most of our rights. The 30 Families and their 6,000 Minions are determined that we not be able to demand the return of what they stole. They have intentionally drained America of its resources and squandered them in idiotic wars and occupations. Clearly, we can see they are planning for the Day the Dollar Dies. They know Nationwide Food Riots are coming. They want Race Wars to destroy the unity of America. That is why we have Open Borders. They want America to lose any military confrontation she has with Russia and China. We have to die because they stole everything from us. They expect Hyperinflation to take what little we have left. They want tens of millions of Americans to die from the plagues. That is why we are suffering from Ebola. Ebola is the first of many to come if we allow them to continue to rule over us.

We are very close to the End Game. There is a little while left when we can say No.

Sun Tzu and the Cost of War originally appeared below. The author is Erico Tavares.

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