WHEN A LION INVADE YOUR SPACE, IT MEANS THAT HE WANTS TO KILL YOU

WHEN A LION INVADE YOUR SPACE, IT MEANS THAT HE WANTS TO KILL YOU  

Sun Tzu in our time. His basic principles  [1]

By Hugo Adan,  October 24, 2014

1- You need to know your enemy and yourself strengths and weaknesses. You need to have a strategy planned well in advance of any campaign, it must be based on a detailed assessment of both the adversary and yourself strengths and weaknesses: “If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.”

2- War as last resort and never infinite war. 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 benefitting 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 for it, while becoming vulnerable himself to other attacks. If a soldier goes to never ending war, it means that he will never come back intact from war. Such strategy is a self-defeating one, it undermines moral.

3- Don’t rely too much on tech superiority. Sun Tzu also warned us against relying too much on technological superiority: “Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.” Tech  superiority may win battles but not necessarily the war, especially in the presence of asymmetric equalizers. And it is very costly. In previous wars the one who has most aircraft carriers was the most powerful, now is the one who has more war-satellites in orbit.  

4- The cost of neutrality is cheaper than the cost of alignment. Once you get enemies, you as State-Nation will waste energy, time & money to cope with it. Better not to have enemies. If the environment is full of rivalries, close your system first & prepare yourself without defying or bulling anyone. In such context better be neutral and studying your future first and the correlation of forces carefully. Do not ally the one that is prompt to loose, even if it has military potentials. Check 1^st its economic and political plans, and do the same with all rival forces.

5- Better show “cola de ratón que cabeza de león” until you are mature enough to defend yourself or impose respect on you. If a lion invade your space it means that he wants to kill you. The mighty lion always chooses its prey carefully, aiming for the weakest of the bunch in the most economical way possible. The weakest should do the same with the lion, if they have to share the same space. “What he eats, where he gets its water and where and when he sleeps”   is the key to defeat the lion. First avoid confronting him and make traps and detectors to prevent his incursions in your home. Then, when he sleeps prepare the poison to make him blind (create the darkness to him) and then poison his food and water.  When the lion fight another lion, wait to blind and poison the loser. Don’t show compassion, the lion won’t show it with you once he restores his strength.  Speed and smart decisions is always the key to survive until you are mature enough to defend yourself,  or impose respect on you.

6. “Victorious warriors win first the battle inside and then go to war abroad, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win inside.” Remember two things:  1^st,  always the invader will be the loser, it is only a matter of time. 2^nd, to win a war you have to have a solid economic & political base inside. You do not go outside to get it, you first build it inside.

7. “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 more the moral inside than the effects of wars for the most since it creates a never ending cycle of violence inside.

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[1] Adapted from Sun Tzu and the Cost of War | Erico Matias Tavares | LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141004105312-1088431-sun-tzu-and-the-cost-of-war   LinkedIn Oct 4, 2014 and from my own readings of Sun Tzu “The Art Of War”.

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