The best way to win a war.

Discussion in 'General Philosophy' started by Daecon, Jul 26, 2015.

  1. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Problem is you have to deal with humans.
     
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  3. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    Consistently winning wars that one has started is so rare an accomplishment - so unusual a bucking of the odds - that the few who managed it are famous worldwide and throughout history. We record their names and their victories, we write history from their perspectives.

    We could maybe rethink that custom. The history of Alexander the Conquerer could be recorded as major volcanic eruptions are - not from the volcano's point of view.

    At least then the various gambling fallacies involved - the failures to properly estimate one's odds of "winning" - would not be exacerbated by systematic omissions of accounts of loss.
     
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  5. river

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    Let the leaders of the battling countries fight it out , between themselves . No soldiers , armour , aircraft nor warships .
     
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  7. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    Which begs the question:
    What if "winning" is not a goal of the war?
     
  8. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Then the leadership qualifications would include WWE credentials. Not a plus IMNSHO.
     
  9. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    That's a point.
    But not losing is always a goal.
    The guys who start them never figure to lose, themselves.
     
  10. Few Words Registered Member

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    Sign treaties. Be conquered. Victor sympathizes, apologizes. Land. Resources. Profit
     
  11. Truck Captain Stumpy The Right Honourable Reverend Truck Captain Valued Senior Member

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    Hell, historians can't even nail down that Sun Tzu wrote "the art of war" - it may well be likely that he existed and wrote the core of the treatise, but it is also determined that the text was modified or added to in later generations.

    You can purchase annotated books that have the text, a translation and history of the text. One such book is "Sun Tzu The Illustrated Art of War" by Samuel B. Griffith

    http://www.returnofkings.com/67824/what-is-the-best-english-translation-of-sun-tzus-art-of-war
     
  12. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    The Chinese said that invaders' grandchildren would be Chinese.
     
  13. Few Words Registered Member

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    How are wars won when they never end?
     
  14. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Was that for me?
     
  15. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    The best way to win a war is to sucker some other dumb schmuck into fighting it for you.
    Byzantium lasted for about 100 years by getting some other dumb schmuck to fight their wars for them.
    and now:
    Netanyahu is trying to get the us to attack Iran on Israel's behalf.
    He seems to think that the USA is a nation of dumb schmucks ready to toady up and do our Israeli and Saudi master's bidding(most likely based on the actions of the previous 3 administrations?).

    Are our leaders really that stupid?
     
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  16. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Have you seen our president lately?

    That's how stupid they are.
     
  17. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    The previous eight administrations - maybe ten. The establishment of Israel as a borderless, expanding, religion based, heavily armed State firmly backed by the US was completed by 1967.
    And it's more Chevron's and Exxon's bidding than Saudi masters.
     
  18. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    OOPs
    in #72 above................100 is wrong
    that should read:
    Byzantium lasted for about 1000 years by getting some other dumb schmuck to fight most of their wars for them.
     
  19. TheFrogger Banned Valued Senior Member

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    When people say, "Fight," they mean, "Win."

     
  20. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Unless they're the Duchy of Grand Fenwick.
     
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  21. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    Q bomb?
     
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  22. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    A very clean bomb.
     
  23. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    Not necessarily. I'm sure the folks who got the US into the proxy battles of the Cold War were happy to win if they could - but the benefit was in keeping the contracts coming without losing.
     

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