11/22/2009

Rules of war change

As the president ponders what to do in Afghanistan, I cannot but wonder how he feels, now that his war is unpopular. In making his decision, I hope he considers the following from Sun Tzu:

He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the soveregin (government).

In war then, let your great objective be victory, not long campaigns.

There is no instance of a great country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

If a campaign is protracted, the resources of the state will not equal the strain.

War changed when morality was introduced into the equation. That certainly guarantees defeat, because every war since Korea has been against insurgents. Guerrilla warfare negates Sun Tzu's "The Art of War." In guerrilla warfare, there is no great army. There are a handful of insurgents, blending in with the populace and gaining their support, either through food and money or fear and threats. The key factor in guerrilla strategy is a drawn-out, protracted conflict, that will wear down the will of the opposition. Democracies are especially vulnerable! Impatient demands for victory, centered around electoral cycles, play into the hands of the guerrillas. One hundred thousand or 200,000 troops will not win the war in Afghanistan because the rules of engagement do not allow the death of civilians by our forces. Until that changes, we will only be sending troops into harm's way with little chance of victory.

I wonder how Attila, Hannibal and Napoleon would handle this situation.

-- JOHN E. FEDELE JR., Salina

Retired Air Force

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