In the 5th century B.C. the Chinese general Sun Tzu had already established a doctrine on warfare, which by all right is called "The Art of War". His 13 chapters form the earliest known treatises on the subject, but have never been surpassed in comprehensiveness and depth of understanding. Modern warfare has not utilized the wisdom of the man who had perfected war to a form of art while western civilization was still in baby-shoes. Sun Tsu's realism and moderation form a contrast to Clausewitz's tendency to emphasize the logical ideal and the absolute, which his disciples caught on to in developing the theory and practice of "Total War" beyond all bounds of sense. Therefore, by the time later translations of Sun Tzu were produced in the West, the military world was under the sway of Clausewitz extremists, and the voice of the Chinese general had little echo. No soldier or statesmen heeded his warning: "there has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited."
Does modern wars really demand modern strategies? Solomon the wisest man in the world declared at the end of his life, "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us." Heeding to Solomon's words that there is nothing new under the sun, we need to find the things of old and study them carefully, because war is a matter of vital importance, it is the province of life or death, it is the road to survival or ruin, and therefore it is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied, as Sun Tzu so wisely stated 2500 year ago.
