Archive for December, 2008

Waging of War

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

Someone didn’t do their homework.

Waging of War 

In war, victory should be swift. If victory is slow, men tire, morale sags. Sieges exhaust strength; protracted campaigns strain the public treasury….

No nation has ever benefited from a protracted war….

The skillful warrior never conscripts troops a second time…

Supplying an army at a distance drains the public coffers and impoverishes the common people….

Strength is depleted on the battlefield; families at home are destitute….

In war, prize victory, not a protracted campaign.

From The Art of War by Sun Tzu, translated by John Minford, c 2002.

Danneskjold Strikes

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

PCWorld published an article with a headline that recalled thoughts of Ragnar Danneskjold:

FBI Says Copper Thefts Threaten U.S. Infrastructure
Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
Wednesday, December 03, 2008 05:10 PM PST

The theft of copper wire has become so pervasive that it poses a threat to the national infrastructure, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Wednesday….

The rest doesn’t sound as interesting, but the long-term effect might be the same.