Sun Tzu's bad advice: Urban warfare in the information age

From: Army | Date: April 1, 2003| Author: | Copyright information

"The worst policy is to attack cities. Attack cities only when there is no alternative."

-Sun Tzu, The Art of War

It is time for a revolution in our thinking about urban warfare. For too long the American military establishment has been reading the wrong history, preparing for the wrong fight and reclining in the wisdom of the wrong philosophers. Urban warfare is the fight of the future-the very near future-and we are not ready. Our thinking about this subject has been derailed by anachronistic principles that no longer apply.

We do not live in Sun Tzu's world, nor even in that of Clausewitz, ...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial to HighBeam Research

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

From The Gulf War to Global War on Terror - a distorted Sun Tzu in US strategic thinking?
; It is claimed that Sun Tzu's precepts were applied in US strategy...forces in the Gulf War, was a student of Sun Tzu and employed tactics from The Art of...Franks, was reported to be a devotee of Sun Tzu and often found quoting him. However...
Applying Sun Tzu's military maxims to Internet businesses.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
; ...series The Sopranos, mentioned having read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, bookstores nationwide...and tactics. That awakened interest in Sun Tzu could be fortunate for Shawn P. McCarthy...book, The Art of .Combat, incorporates Sun Tzu's ancient wisdom into a plan for winning...
Sun Tzu: Strategy and The Art of War.
; Who was Sun Tzu? Sun Tzu is generally understood to be a Chinese general who lived over 2,400...roughly the same time as Confucius. Raised in a family of army officers, Sun Tzu became familiar with, and eventually expert in, military affairs. Historians...
Sales strategy from Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
; ...ancient China by history's greatest strategist, Sun Tzu. In his book, The Art of War, Sun Tzu defined the elements of strategy. In this article...battling others or running away from the challenge. Sun Tzu taught that both of these reactions are usually...
Ancient Chinese advice for modern business strategists. (Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War')
; Introduction Sun Tzu was born in the Chinese state of Ch'i...Lao Tzu (Chen, 1994). The legend is that Sun Tzu's manuscript attracted the attention of...After demonstrating his military arts, Sun Tzu gained the king's favor and began to establish...
Interview: Colonel Gary Anderson discusses the prospect of urban warfare in Iraq
; ...discusses the prospect of urban warfare in Iraq Host: SCOTT...military theoretician Sun Tzu, who said, `When you...resources training for urban warfare. Retired Marine Corps...reason to revise what Sun Tzu said? Col. ANDERSON...strategy? Col. ANDERSON: Urban ...
Sun Tzu's insights on the art of war
; ...older writings of the Chinese military tactician Sun Tzu, assembled as The Art of War. Sun Tzu's writings finally reached the Western world...labor heads this decade, hands out copies of the Sun Tzu text to of all his organization's general chairmen...
Chicago firm buys information security provider Sun Tzu
; ...firm buys information security provider Sun Tzu By JASON GERTZEN jgertzen@journalsentinel...January 9, 2003 Information security company Sun Tzu Security said Wednesday it has been acquired...testing lab, acquired Milwaukee-based Sun Tzu for its use of technology to investigate...
History and destiny: Lessons of Sun Tzu ignored in Iraq from the beginning
; ...benefited from a protracted war," wrote Sun Tzu more than 2,000 years ago. The primary...nation still at war. In his "Art of War," Sun Tzu recognized what many historians regard...strength exhausted and treasure spent," Sun Tzu wrote in his essays. For the United States...
What would Sun Tzu say about the war on terrorism?
; ...run up to the war in Iraq were copies of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Perhaps, Clausewitz's more...last year. But it makes sense reading Sun Tzu as well as the seven other military classics...moderation is not uppermost in American minds, Sun Tzu's advice notwithstanding. Instead, the...