If You Wish For Peace, Understand War.

The Urge To Gain Release From Tension By Action Is A Precipitating Cause Of War.

The Most Consistently Successful Commanders, When Faced By An Enemy In A Position That Was Strong Naturally Or Materially, Have Hardly Ever Tackled It In A Direct Way. And When, Under Pressure Of Circumstances, They Have Risked A Direct Attack, The Result Has Commonly Been To Blot Their Record With A Failure.

I Used To Think That The Causes Of War Were Predominantly Economic. I Came To Think That They Were More Psychological. I Am Now Coming To Think That They Are Decisively "personal," Arising From The Defects And Ambitions Of Those Who Have The Power To Influence The Currents Of Nations.

The Most Effective Indirect Approach Is One That Lures Or Startles The Opponent Into A False Move - So That, As In Ju-jitsu, His Own Effort Is Turned Into The Lever Of His Overthrow.

It Should Be The Aim Of Grand Strategy To Discover And Pierce The Achilles' Heel Of The Opposing Government's Power To Make War. Strategy, In Turn, Should Seek To Penetrate A Joint In The Harness Of The Opposing Forces. To Apply One's Strength Where The Opponent Is Strong Weakens Oneself Disproportionately To The Effect Attained. To Strike With Strong Effect, One Must Strike At Weakness.