Art of War 1Running head: Art of War Art of War Sun TzuUtah Valley State CollegeDerrick TurleyMacroeconomics

Art of War 2War, by definition, is a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air (Dictionary.com, 2007).Sun Tzu’s theory(s) are very interestingly approached in his book, “Art of War.” Onecould especially find this analysis interesting if Tzu’s contents are compared to currentworld events, wars, politics, etc. One could argue that war is based on man power,numbers, military warfare, chemical warfare & other military means. Sun Tzu shows thatwar is not only about weaponry and ammunition, but rather, non-military means such asdiplomatic, political and economic forces of power. Tzu’s theories also correlate wellwith the current war on terror in that peace & war are difficult to distinguish from eachother. Also, they are part of the same ongoing conflict. From a broad perspective, Tzushows how wars can be won in the psychological, economic and diplomatic means whichcan be used to break through enemy lines in other ways then through blood and carnage.The mind is a powerful tool, and to manipulate the mind of the enemy could yield avictory in ways that war is not defined. This paper will analyze the concepts of psychological warfare, economics and the influence of diplomacy.

Psychological Warfare-Sun Tzu:

In Giles translation of Tzu’s “Art of War” he states in Chapter 1: Laying PlansAll warfare is based on deception.Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when weare near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;when far away, we must make him believe we are near. (Giles, 1910 pg. 2)

Art of War 3When approaching the art of war, Tzu has numerous statements that have to dowith the psychological aspect of getting into the enemy’s head. As shown above, war haseverything to do with counteracting against “What might be” in unison with “What reallyis”. In Griffins translation, Tzu’s states, The enemy must not know where I intend to give battle. For if he does not know where I intend to give battle he must prepare in a greatmany places. And when he prepares in a great many places, those I have to fight in anyone place will be few (Griffith, 1971 pg. 98). As these theories are applied to the currentday, terrorism can easily come to mind. If terrorists do not know where US troops are,they will not know when to expect a battle. This strategy, along with present daytechnology, has been a great help to the US Military in the current war on terror.Another psychological portion of the current war that correlates with Tzu’stheories is how war and motives are perceived. In the Middle East there is a depression of economic growth. The Middle East has been this way for many years. When thesestruggling countries see the economic growth of Western Civilization, they resent the progression and gain the perception that we are going to make our way a standard amongthem. A.S. Hashim states that because of this perception, these Middle Eastern nationshave failed to modernize, attain political legitimacy and economically develop (Hashim,2001 pg. 16) As such, it is easy to see the work that is cut out for the AmericanGovernment and Military. A change of mind, a change of heart, a change of thought, achange of perception must happen for trust to be garnered and for economic growth toreally begin. Another great example of psychological warfare is Saddam and the Iraqi