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Why the Enemy’s Methods Make the War on Terror so Difficult to Win
Guest Column | By Tim Wilson | June 24, 2008
"All warfare is based on deception." Sun Tzu - approx. 500 BC
"War is deceit" Mohammed - approx. 630 AD
When
it comes to foreign relations, business strategy and military
operations, arguably the most influential book of all time is The Art of War accredited to Sun Tzu, a Chinese general who lived about 2,500 years
ago. While there is much discussion and disagreement about the exact
circumstances surrounding the writing of the book and even over the
various translations, it has such credibility as a basic tutorial that
the campaigns of Mao Tse-tung, Douglas MacArthur and Norman Schwarzkopf
were based on it. Today, proponents as unexpected as Donald Trump and Luiz Scolari quote from Sun Tzu and advocate his efficacy.
The Art of War was required reading for all the military leaders of the former Soviet
Union and is widely and highly recommended to students of warfare,
politics and business around the world today. It remains required study
for professional military officers in many nations, notably including
the U.S. (it is on the West Point curriculum), China and India. It is a
relatively short book (more of a pamphlet at typically only 71 pages)
and there are numerous translations and editions available from all the
large retailers.
The influence of Sun Tzu is hard to overstate.
In a mere 13 chapters, this book lays out the essential strategies to
be followed, even today for the successful achievement of any campaign.
In this modern information age it is widely available, so it is also
worth bearing in mind that it is not only good people who read and
understand its concepts. Unlike other ancient treatises, it does not
focus on specific tactics or techniques which can become dated with
changing technology.
Sun Tzu reflects many themes about attacking
enemy weaknesses rather than strengths. In the modern context, he
writes extensively about issues that are now embraced by the term
"information warfare." To Sun Tzu, "all warfare is based on deception;"
and equally good intelligence is an essential precursor to victory.
Regrettably, in today's War on Terror (WoT) we are forced to fight
mainly on a defensive basis. One of the main problems is that we are
not facing an "Army" in the conventional sense, despite the claims of
the enemy. As a result we are mostly forced into reactive operations
rather than proactive actions - hence, the vast expenditures of effort
in time, manpower and treasure on Homeland Security. Since the enemy
conducts mainly covert rather than overt operations, defensive measures
are mainly preventive rather than offensive. That is a major, and often
unrecognized, reason why the WoT needs to be fought in foreign lands
such as Afghanistan and Iraq. This was and remains one of the few ways
in which we can conduct the offensive operations which are widely
recognized by students of warfare as essential to achieving any victory.
Even
in these few, difficult offensive operations we are up against a foe
that hides in amongst the civilian population, preventing the
application of basic principles such as concentration of force. Their
strategy allows a physically weaker enemy to engage with some success
forces who have much greater strength at every level, by selection of
the time and place to concentrate against small patrols using swift
"hit and run" tactics. From their perspective this is a sensible ploy
allowing them to set the conditions for engagement. It has also
entrapped us in a prolonged engagement, which Sun Tzu rightly says is
never a successful strategy for a country.
In sum, the enemy in
the WoT is pursuing the strategies of Sun Tzu. They are fighting a
highly successful information campaign, weakening our resolve and
attacking the very fabric of our society. They constantly exploit our
weaknesses by such tactics as the litigation suits brought by the
"Flying Imams" and many of the Guantanamo detainees, using our own
systems against us. The use of the internet to spread the Danish
cartoon campaign throughout the Islamic world was another example of
their advanced use of information warfare . It is by these and many
other means they are working to set the conditions for success.
Modern
military doctrine attaches much importance to the "Decision Cycle" by
which commanders direct their forces. The aim of most intelligence
operations is to provide sufficient information for the commander to
get "inside" the decision cycle of the enemy, allowing retention of the
initiative and thus ensuring eventual victory. U.S. military doctrine
in particular is focused on achieving quick and decisive victories with
minimum casualties. However the tactics to achieve this doctrine are
almost impossible to implement successfully against a widely dispersed
and heavily camouflaged enemy - a valid description of terrorists who
hide in amongst the civilian population and are indistinguishable until
almost the moment of their attack.
Any reasonable assessment of
the current situation in the WoT shows that the enemy is "inside" our
decision cycle instead of vice versa, setting the agenda and attacking
on many fronts: informational, judicial and political as well as
physical. This is a highly unusual situation for our military
commanders and politicians, and one for which they have no training or
preparation since all previous experience has been based on
conventional warfare. It will take innovation, determination and
decisive action to correct the problem. It is also likely to take a
considerable amount of time.
Our leaders should certainly be
conducting counter-operations, especially in the informational arena,
including explanations to the US public of the problems caused by the
methods of the enemy, in order to change the equations of the decision
cycle. Perhaps then they could turn the tide of bad publicity which has
accompanied much of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan which is so
contrary to the perceptions of our soldiers in the field. If the public
understands that much of the "bad news" from these battlefields is
actually enemy propaganda, they, and in turn our politicians, will
become much less susceptible to adverse stories. This should not be
hard to achieve, after all, the American public are more patriotic than
the inhabitants of most other nations, and for good reason as they live
in the greatest nation in history.
"To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself." Sun Tzu
"So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will fight without danger in battles.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself" Sun Tzu
"In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory." Sun Tzu
Author's note: There are numerous versions of Sun Tzu's "Art of War" around. I use a paperback with commentaries by James Clavell which is very readable in English.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Tim Wilson is a retired British Army officer who served in a variety of command appointments on numerous operational tours during a 30 year military career. He now works as an independent consultant and over the last 2 years worked for USAID in Iraq.
Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or its staff.
2 Comments | Post a Comment
Certainly, fighting terrorism is different from fighting an army.
Why then, are we fighting them as an army?
June 25 at 2:16 pm | #1 | Link
Spot On!