Eyes on China – Series 9.0
by MG Paul E. Vallely, US Army (Ret)
Chairman of Stand Up America US Foundation
February 28, 2021
CCP’s and The Democratic Party’s
Strategies for Domination
Having been a student of warfare from my studies at West Point to the Army War College as well as a practitioner in combat, I challenged my curiosity to draw parallels to modern-day global and national occurrences. These parallels align with the global strategies of the Chinese Communist Party and domestically to the Democratic Socialist Party of the United States. If one goes back to the writings of Sun Tsu, one will see historically how the CCP and the American Democratic Party laid out strategic and tactical plans to dominate.
Sun Tzu was a Chinese General, military strategist, writer, and philosopher who lived in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, an influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thinking. His works focus much more on alternatives to battle, such as stratagem, delay, the use of spies and alternatives to war itself, the making and keeping of alliances, the uses of deceit, and a willingness to submit, at least temporarily, to more powerful foes. Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and East Asian culture as a legendary historical and military figure. The name Sun Tzu by which he is best known in the Western World is an honorific which means “Master Sun
The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (“Master Sun”), is composed of 13 chapters. Each one is devoted to an aspect of warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics. You will the parallels to the modern CCP road to global dominance and the strategy of Democratic Party Domination as we are witnessing in the United States now. Global and Domestic politics appear to have adopted the Sun Tsu rules of warfare.
For almost 1,500 years it was the lead text in an anthology that was formalized as the Seven Military Classics by Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1080. The Art of War remains the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare] and has influenced both Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, politics, legal strategy, lifestyles beyond the 12 Chapters.
The Chapters
- Laying out a Plan (The calculations). Explores the five fundamental factors (the Way, seasons, terrain, leadership, and management) and seven elements that determine the outcomes of military engagements. By thinking, assessing, and comparing these points, a commander can calculate his chances of victory. Habitual deviation from these calculations will ensure failure via improper action. The text stresses that war is a very grave matter for the state and must not be commenced without due consideration.
- Waging War (The Challenge). Explains how to understand the economy of warfare and how success requires winning decisive engagements quickly. This section advises that successful military campaigns require limiting the cost of competition and conflict.
- Attack by Strategies (The Plan of Attack). Defines the source of strength as unity, not size, and discusses the five factors that are needed to succeed in any war. In order of importance, these critical factors are Attack, Strategy, Alliances, Army, and Cities.
- Tactical Dispositions (Positioning). Importance of defending existing positions until a commander can advance from those positions in safety. It teaches commanders the importance of recognizing strategic opportunities and teaches not to create opportunities for the enemy.
- Use of Energy (Directing): Use of creativity and timing in building an army’s momentum.
- Weak Points (Illusion and Reality). Explains how an army’s opportunities come from the openings in the environment caused by the relative weakness of the enemy and how to respond to changes in the fluid battlefield over a given area.
- Maneuvering an Army. The dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon the commander.
- Variations of Tactics. Focuses on the need for flexibility in an army’s responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully.
- Army on the March (Moving the Force). The different situations in which an army finds itself as it moves through new enemy territories, and how to respond to these situations. Much of this section focuses on evaluating the intentions of others.
10.The Terrain (Situational Positioning). Looks at the three general areas of resistance (distance, dangers, and barriers) and the six types of ground positions that arise from them. Each of these six field positions offers certain advantages and disadvantages.
11.Nine Situations (Nine Stages). Nine common situations (or stages) in a campaign, from scattering to deadly, and the specific focus that a commander will need to successfully navigate them.
12.Attack by Fire (The Fiery Attack). The general use of weapons and the specific use of the environment as a weapon. This section examines the five targets for attack, the five types of environmental attack and the appropriate responses to such attacks.
13.Use of Spies (The use of Intelligence). Focuses on the importance of developing good information sources and specifies the five types of intelligence sources and how to best manage each of them.
(See the addendums for further description of Sun Tsu)
First, let us look at the CCP’s initiative to divide and conquer. The CCP has used this strategy throughout the world, particularly in Europe and along the Silk Road and in Africa. The CCP expands its influence by penetrating universities, think tanks, research institutes, cities, global companies, sports, Hollywood, newspapers, Wall Street, global banking interests.
Second, look at the Democratic Party initiatives to divide and conquer. Divide and rule (Latin: divide et impera), or divide and conquer, in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.
The phrase “divide and conquer” is attributed to Julius Caesar and has been used by emperors and would-be tyrants ever since. In the age of empires, divide and conquer was used to keep the empires’ subjects from rebelling against the emperor. The Romans used it to keep their conquered neighbors competing rather than their foreign occupiers. The British used it to keep their colonies squabbling along religious, ethnic, and sectarian grounds so that the Queen and the British East India Company could more effectively exploit them.
The “divide and conquer” scenario is more worrying for national health because the pro-War Democratic Party does like to conquer human beings: There are incredibly shocking efforts to blacklist, censor and seemingly criminalize Trump supporters. By forcing Trump’s Congressional supporters into the open Democrats will know exactly where to set their stigmatizing sights. I cannot believe that Democrats are going to lead a multi-month, much less multi-year, “Trumpphobia” campaign, but I also could not believe the 2016 Russophobia campaign lasted until even after the 2019 Mueller Report’s exoneration of Russia. Is it possible that Democrats are going to persist in their anti-Trump cultural program for years rather than honestly discuss America’s decline?
The word “woke” has been curiously injected into the vocabulary of the second decade of the 21st century. Its most common use is to decry those who are not “woke” to climate change, diversity, gender identification, American history, etc., etc., etc. But in fairness to all, to be “woke” is to be aware of both sides of an issue, accepting that there is always an alternative view to be considered.
The most recent, effective movement to further divide the country is “Cancel Culture”. Cancel culture has its place – it helps to call out and remove problematic people from mainstream culture. Let us call cancel culture what it really is: it is a way to exert some control over a world that is increasingly becoming more dangerous and less tolerant. It is a way to further divide the masses into distinct groups.
The phenomenon of promoting the “canceling” of people, brands, and even shows and movies due to what some consider to be offensive or problematic remarks or ideologies.
Dr. Jill McCorkel, a professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University, told The Post that the roots of cancel culture have been present throughout human history. Societies have punished people for behaving outside of perceived social norms for centuries, she said, and this is just another variation. Though it is easy to single out the “social justice warriors”, do not be mistaken. Anyone can co-opt a cancel culture if they share the same dogmatic and hypersensitive attitudes of the majority. In fact, the victims of cancel culture could be anyone who has disobeyed a rule or a policy of a group/affiliation/institution.
“Cancel culture is an extension of or a contemporary evolution of a much bolder set of social processes that we can see in the form of banishment,” she said. “[They] are designed to reinforce the set of norms.”
Over the last few years, the social-media trend has gained momentum under the trendy new name — placing celebrities, companies, and media alike under a microscope of political correctness
The question is America, when are we going to wake up and stand up to these evil forces dividing America. The time is now!
Sun Tsu extracts from Wikipedia.
Released and Distributed by the Stand Up America US Foundation
Contact: standupamericausa1@gmail.com
Website: standupamericaus.org
Addendums
Military and Intelligence Applications
Across East Asia, The Art of War was part of the syllabus for potential candidates of military service examinations.
During the Sengoku period (c. 1467–1568), the Japanese daimyō named Takeda Shingen (1521–1573) is said to have become almost invincible in all battles without relying on guns, because he studied The Art of War.[11] The book even gave him the inspiration for his famous battle standard “Fūrinkazan” (Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain), meaning fast as the wind, silent as a forest, ferocious as fire and immovable as a mountain.
The translator Samuel B. Griffith offers a chapter on “Sun Tzu and Mao Tse-Tung” where The Art of War is cited as influencing Mao’s On Guerrilla Warfare, On the Protracted War and Strategic Problems of China’s Revolutionary War, and includes Mao’s quote: “We must not belittle the saying in the book of Sun Wu Tzu, the great military expert of ancient China, ‘Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a thousand battles without disaster.”[11]
During the Vietnam War, some Vietcong officers extensively studied The Art of War and reportedly could recite entire passages from memory. General Võ Nguyên Giáp successfully implemented tactics described in The Art of War during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu ending major French involvement in Indochina and leading to the accords which partitioned Vietnam into North and South. General Võ, later the main PVA military commander in the Vietnam War, was an avid student and practitioner of Sun Tzu’s ideas.[12] America’s defeat there, more than any other event, brought Sun Tzu to the attention of leaders of American military theory.[12][13][14]
The Department of the Army in the United States, through its Command and General Staff College, lists The Art of War as one example of a book that may be kept at a military unit’s library.[15]
The Art of War is listed on the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program (formerly known as the Commandant’s Reading List). It is recommended reading for all United States Military Intelligence personnel.[16]
The Art of War is used as instructional material at the US Military Academy at West Point, in the course Military Strategy (470),[17] and it is also recommended reading for Royal Officer cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Some notable military leaders have stated the following about Sun Tzu and the Art of War:
“I always kept a copy of The Art of War on my Desk.”[18] —General Douglas MacArthur, 5 Star General & Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.
“I have read The Art of War by Sun Tzu. He continues to influence both soldiers & politicians.”[19] —General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor, and Secretary of State.
According to some authors, the strategy of deception from The Art of War was studied and widely used by the KGB: “I will force the enemy to take our strength for weakness, and our weakness for strength, and thus will turn his strength into weakness”.[20] The book is widely cited by KGB officers in charge of disinformation operations in Vladimir Volkoff‘s novel Le Montage. Finnish Field Marshal Mannerheim and general Aksel Airo were avid readers of Art of War. They both read it in French; Airo kept the French translation of the book on his bedside table in his quarters
Application outside the Military
The Art of War has been applied to many fields outside of the military. Much of the text is about how to outsmart one’s opponent without having to engage in physical battle. As such, it has found application as a training guide for many competitive endeavors that do not involve actual combat.
The Art of War is mentioned as an influence in the earliest known Chinese collection of stories about fraud (mostly in the realm of commerce), Zhang Yingyu’s The Book of Swindles (Du pian xin shu 杜騙新書, ca. 1617), which dates to the late Ming dynasty.[21]
Many business books have applied the lessons taken from the book to office politics and corporate business strategy.[22][23][24] Many Japanese companies make the book required reading for their key executives.[25] The book is also popular among Western business circles citing its utilitarian value regarding management practices. Many entrepreneurs and corporate executives have turned to it for inspiration and advice on how to succeed in competitive business situations. The book has also been applied to the field of education.[26]
The Art of War has been the subject of legal books[27] and legal articles on the trial process, including negotiation tactics and trial strategy.[28][29][30][31]
The book The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene employs philosophies covered in The Art of War.[32]
The Art of War has also been applied in sports. National Football League coach Bill Belichick, record holder of the most Super Bowl wins in history, has stated on multiple occasions his admiration for The Art of War.[33][34] Brazilian association football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari actively used The Art of War for Brazil’s successful 2002 World Cup campaign. During the tournament Scolari put passages of The Art of War underneath his players’ doors in the night.[35][36]
The Art of War is often quoted while developing tactics and/or strategy in Electronic Sports. “Play to Win” by David Sirlin, analyses applications of the ideas from The Art of War in modern Electronic Sports. The Art of War was released in 2014 as an e-book companion alongside the Art of War DLC for Europa Universalis IV, a PC strategy game by Paradox Development Studios, with a foreword by Thomas Johansson.
Film and television
The Art of War and Sun Tzu have been referenced and quoted in various movies and television shows. In the 1987 movie Wall Street, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) frequently references The Art of War while dispensing advice to his young protégé Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen).[37] In the latter stages of the movie, Fox mentions Sun Tzu himself when describing his plan on trapping Gekko.[38] The 20th James Bond film, Die Another Day, released in 2002, also references The Art of War as the spiritual guide shared by Colonel Moon and his father.[39]
In television, The Art of War was referenced in The Sopranos. In season 3, episode 8 (“He Is Risen”), Dr. Melfi suggests to Tony Soprano that he read the book.[40] Later in the episode Tony tells Dr. Melfi he is impressed with the Sun Tzu, stating “Here’s this guy, a Chinese general, who wrote this thing 2400 years ago, and most of it still applies today!” Immediately following the episode of The Sopranos sales of The Art of War spiked.[41]
In Star Trek: The Next Generation first-season episode “The Last Outpost,” Riker quoted The Art of War to Captain Picard, who expressed pleasure that Sun Tzu was still taught at Starfleet Academy. Later in the episode, a survivor from a long-dead nonhuman empire noted common aspects between his own people’s wisdom and The Art of War about knowing when and when not to fight.
The Art of War is a 2000 action spy film directed by Christian Duguay and starring Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn, Anne Archer and Donald Sutherland. [42]
On the Young Justice: Outsiders episode ‘Evolution’, Nightwing quotes Sun Tzu’s Art of War when teaching new recruits.
In the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, in episode 13, Roy Mustang quotes Sun Tzu’s Art of War in a battle against Edward Elric.
In NCIS: Los Angeles‘ season 4 episode 15 (“History”), Marty Deeks references Sun Tzu’s Art of War in a series of rock-paper-scissors games against Sam Hanna.
*Extracts from Wikipedia outlining the history of Sun Tsu.
Released and Distributed by the Stand Up America US Foundation
Contact: standupamericausa1@gmail.com
